The Minnesota Vikings have misplaced left sort out Christian Darrisaw, one among their prime gamers and among the many finest at his place within the NFL, for the season due to accidents to the ACL and MCL in his left knee, coach Kevin O’Connell confirmed Friday.
Darrisaw suffered the harm late within the first half of the Vikings’ 30-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday evening. The Vikings positioned him on injured reserve Friday afternoon and, within the corresponding transfer, activated tight finish T.J. Hockenson to their 53-man roster from the bodily unable to carry out (PUP) listing.
“He is clearly one among our offensive pillars that we have now leaned on lots,” O’Connell mentioned of Darrisaw, “and it may be a big loss. However we have all received to perform a little bit extra.”
Veteran David Quessenberry changed Darrisaw in Thursday’s recreation, however O’Connell mentioned Vikings coaches have been discussing a number of choices for the place shifting ahead. Left guard Blake Brandel has performed left sort out prior to now, and guard Dalton Risner is eligible to be activated from injured reserve. The Vikings additionally drafted sort out Walter Rouse within the sixth spherical this spring.
“I believed [Quessenberry] settled in and did some issues to assist us,” O’Connell mentioned, “however yeah, whether or not while you speak about that mentality of making an attempt to get the perfect 5 guys in there, not solely these 5 choices however then what’s the remainder of the depth appear like? I do really feel like that is the place your O-line depth that we felt good about all through coaching camp after which main into the season provides you prospects and we’ll proceed to have that dialogue inside our teaching employees and we’ll determine what the perfect plan of assault is shifting ahead, and I do assume there’s a number of choices on the desk with that and that is what we have to determine.”
Darrisaw, 25, has been the Vikings’ beginning left sort out since they made him the No. 23 choose of the 2021 draft. He has battled a sequence of accidents however carried out properly sufficient to benefit a four-year contract extension value as much as $113 million.
The harm occurred whereas Darrisaw was blocking with 35 seconds remaining within the first half. Rams security Jaylen McCollough fell into the aspect of his left knee, and group medical officers helped him stroll on to the locker room because the Vikings completed out the half.
The Vikings had taken possession of the ball at their very own 3-yard line, however that they had all three of their timeouts. Quite than having his group kneel the ball to shut out the half, O’Connell mentioned he needed to see whether or not the offense might doubtlessly transfer into place for a rating. The Rams additionally had a timeout, which might have required the Vikings to kneel twice inside a slender area between the road of scrimmage and the top zone.
“That they had dime protection on the sphere,” O’Connell mentioned, “so I believed we might possibly pop a run. Do not know if we have been essentially focused versus that group on the market, which I feel if we’re, possibly that ball’s received an opportunity to [move]. If we get off and rolling with the timeouts we had left on the time, get that first down, then there’s an opportunity to possibly attempt to dial some stuff up and never give them any likelihood at doubling us up there with them beginning out the second half.”
