The Minnesota Vikings have misplaced left sort out Christian Darrisaw, one in all their high gamers and among the many greatest 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 night time. 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 in all our offensive pillars that we’ve got leaned on rather a lot,” O’Connell mentioned of Darrisaw, “and it will be a major loss. However we have all acquired to do some bit extra.”
Veteran David Quessenberry changed Darrisaw in Thursday’s recreation, however O’Connell mentioned Vikings coaches had been discussing a number of choices for the place transferring ahead. Left guard Blake Brandel has performed left sort out previously, 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 assumed [Quessenberry] settled in and did some issues to assist us,” O’Connell mentioned, “however yeah, whether or not whenever you speak about that mentality of making an attempt to get the very best 5 guys in there, not solely these 5 choices however then what’s the remainder of the depth seem 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 offers you prospects and we’ll proceed to have that dialogue inside our teaching employees and we’ll determine what the very best plan of assault is transferring ahead, and I do assume there’s a number of choices on the desk with that and that is what we have got to determine.”
Darrisaw, 25, has been the Vikings’ beginning left sort out since they made him the No. 23 decide of the 2021 draft. He has battled a collection of accidents however carried out effectively sufficient to advantage a four-year contract extension price 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 facet of his left knee, and workforce 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. Reasonably than having his workforce kneel the ball to shut out the half, O’Connell mentioned he wished to see whether or not the offense might probably 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.
“They’d dime protection on the sphere,” O’Connell mentioned, “so I assumed we might possibly pop a run. Do not know if we had been essentially focused versus that group on the market, which I believe if we’re, possibly that ball’s acquired 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.”