Tag: christian darrisaw

T.J. Hockenson injury update: Latest news on Vikings TE

The Minnesota Vikings announced Friday that tight end T.J. Hockenson had been activated and will make his season debut in Week 9 vs. Colts.

It has been a tough week for the Minnesota Vikings and their fans. This time last week, Minnesota was one of just two undefeated teams in the NFL, along with the defending Super Bowl champions Kansas City. They were sitting atop the toughest division in the NFL, the NFC North, and were one of the biggest surprises of the season to this point.

In just five days, all of that has changed dramatically. The Vikings have lost two games in five days, the strength of the team — the Vikings’ defense — has looked average at best in the two losses, and news came out Friday that starting left tackle Christian Darrisaw will miss the remainder of the season with a torn ACL and MCL requiring surgery.

It’s been a tough few days for the Vikings, but they got a bit of good news on Friday, as head coach Kevin O’Connell announced that the team would be activating tight end T.J. Hockenson to the active roster following his rehab from a knee injury of his own.

Hockenson was injured late last season when Lions safety Kerby Joseph hit him, tearing ligaments in his knee. It’s been a long rehab for Hockenson, but he’s finally ready to join the team. The Vikings hope his return will inject some life into an offense that has struggled in the past two games.

Minnesota got off to a hot start on Thursday night against the Rams, scoring 14 points in the first quarter. Then the offense cooled off dramatically, scoring just six points in the final three quarters, losing to the Rams 30-20. Hockenson’s return gives the Vikings offense another dynamic playmaker, and should give Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold a safety valve over the middle that he has lacked so far this season.

It remains to be seen whether it will be enough to stop the Vikings’ recent skid, but at the very least, it is a bit of good news in a sea of bad news lately.

Christian Darrisaw injury update: Latest news on Vikings LT

Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell announced Friday that LT Christian Darrisaw suffered a torn ACL and MCL and is out for the year

Things have quickly gone from bad to worse for the Minnesota Vikings. Not only have the Vikings gone from one of only two remaining undefeated teams in the NFL to a two-loss team in the span of five days, but now they have to face the rest of the season without a key member of the team.

Vikings left tackle Christian Darrisaw was injured just before halftime of Thursday night’s game against the Los Angeles Rams. The Vikings were pinned deep in their own territory and simply looking to run out the clock on the first half. Running back Aaron Jones took a handoff from quarterback Sam Darnold and ran up the middle for a minimal gain.

Jones was tackled on the play by Rams’ safety Jaylen McCollough, and in the process of the tackle, McCollough rolled up on the back of Darrisaw’s leg. Darrisaw went down immediately and was down for several minutes before being helped by training staff to the locker room.

Now we know the extent of Darrisaw’s injury, and it’s the worst-case scenario. In his media availability today, head coach Kevin O’Connell announced that Darrisaw would be out for the remainder of the season, as his injury requires surgery to repair a torn ACL and MCL.

With Darrisaw on the shelf for the remainder of the season, reserve swing tackle David Quessenberry will likely be called upon to fill his shoes and be the team’s starting left tackle for the rest of the season. Quessenberry replaced Darrisaw in Thursday night’s game and performed admirably, but this is a huge loss for a Vikings team that has seen their fortunes turn very quickly.

Minnesota now has 10 days to adjust and try to pick up the pieces before their Week 9 game against the Indianapolis Colts.

Christian Darrisaw injury vs. Rams: Latest news on Vikings LT

Minnesota Vikings left tackle Christian Darrisaw was injured late in the second quarter of the Week 8 Thursday night game against the Rams.

(This story was updated to add new information.)

The Thursday night game started off in exciting fashion, as both the Minnesota Vikings and Los Angeles Rams scored touchdowns on their first two possessions of the game. The game figured to be a shoot-out, but both offenses cooled off in the second quarter. The Vikings in particular shot themselves in the foot several times with penalties.

Then, things went from bad to worse for the Vikings, as just before the end of the first half, Christian Darrisaw, who was starting left tackle, was injured. Minnesota was pinned deep in their own territory and were simply looking to run out the clock and go into the half. Head coach Kevin O’Connell called a run play for Aaron Jones. A simple play, or so it should have been.

Christian Darrisaw injury update

As Jones took the hand-off and ran the ball up the middle, Rams safety Jaylen McCollough came around the end to make the tackle on Jones. In the process, McCollough rolled up on the back of Darrisaw’s leg, and Darrisaw hit the deck immediately.

Darrisaw was down on the field for several minutes while receiving attention from the Vikings’ medical staff. Eventually, Darrisaw was helped off the field and taken back to the locker room.

UPDATE: The Vikings have officially ruled Darrisaw out for the remainder of the game with a knee injury.

 

How long will Christian Darrisaw be out?

It’s too soon after Darrisaw’s injury to know for sure what the injury is or what the prognosis is. The injury didn’t look good, though, and needing help back to the locker room isn’t a good sign. We’ll keep you posted on any updates to Darrisaw’s status as they come in.

Vikings offensive line depth chart

With Darrisaw in the locker room for the foreseeable future, the Vikings will likely turn to swing tackle David Quessenberry to take his place. Quessenberry has spent the last two seasons with the Vikings as a reserve offensive lineman, getting four starts last season.

Quessenberry will now be entrusted to protect quarterback Sam Darnold’s blindside and slow down a Rams pass rush that has caused some problems for the Vikings offense early on.

Lions lose Aidan Hutchinson for the season ahead of Vikings matchup

The Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions faceoff for the first time on Sunday with the top of the division at stake.

The Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions face off for the first time on Sunday, with the top of the division at stake. Unfortunately for the Lions, they will have to compete without their top defensive star.

On Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys, Aidan Hutchinson suffered a gruesome leg injury that resulted in emergency surgery. The surgery was to repair a broken tibia and he will miss the remainder of the 2024 season.

That means the Lions’ top pass rusher will be gone for the season, which is currently 4-1. The Minnesota Vikings and the NFL never want to see a player get seriously hurt the way Hutchinson did. The league never stops moving, so the game this weekend will, of course, go ahead, but it also means the jobs for Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill will be adjusted.

They will have to gameplan much less for James Houston or Alim McNeil than for Hutchinson. This means that Wes Phillips and Kevin O’Connell can gameplan without worrying about the former Rookie of the Year.

The ripple effect will be felt throughout the season, but it starts this Sunday against the Vikings.

Former NFL offensive lineman praises the work of Vikings OL group

The entire world could learn from the bond that offensive linemen have with their groups and with other linemen around the league.

The entire world could learn from offensive linemen’s bond with their groups and other linemen around the league. They are constantly looking to help each other improve and make each person’s career last forever within the NFL.

Because of that, they continue to hype up other offensive lineman groups even after they exit the league.

A.Q. Shipley, a 12-year NFL veteran, has made his offensive linemen rankings a constant on The Pat McAfee Show. On Wednesday, he ranked the current offensive line groups, and the former NFL lineman gave the Vikings a glowing one.

“The Minnesota Vikings offensive line has been doing an unbelievable job. . . They’ve been blocking the (blank) out of people.”

He ranked them fourth overall in the NFL, and for good reason. Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill have done a great job of sealing the edges for Sam Darnold. Blake Brandel has been playing out of his mind this year, Ed Ingram has been consistent, and Garrett Bradbury has held up well despite being banged up.

The group as a whole is a major reason this team is undefeated at 4-0 heading into Week 5. Not to mention, they have kept Sam Darnold upright, and it has allowed him to play at an MVP-like level.

Vikings OT Christian Darrisaw receives major praise from analyst

The massive left tackle had a great first week performance against two of the better pass rushers.

The Minnesota Vikings knew exactly what they were doing when they gave left tackle Christian Darrisaw his massive contract extension. Solidifying great left tackle is important to protect your quarterback’s blind side. That’s exactly what Darrisaw did in Week 1 against the New York Giants.

NFL analyst Brian Baldinger gushed over Darrisaw’s performance against the Giants. The massive left tackle surrendered a single quarterback hit on 26 pressure opportunities according to Pro Football Focus. He was going up against two of the better pass rushers in the league in Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux.

“Darrisaw was outstanding all game long against some pass-rushers that are supposed to get to the quarterback,” said Baldinger, narrating plays where Darrisaw stoned Burns and Thibodeaux.

Sam Darnold was super efficient in his first start with the Vikings. Darnold went 19-of-24 passing with 208 yards passing, two touchdowns, and one interception in his debut. Darnold’s pocket was mostly clean outside Ed Ingram’s shaky performance.

Darrisaw and the Vikings will have another massive test on Sunday when they host the 49ers.

Baldy Breakdown: Vikings stonewalled Giants’ edge rush duo

Brian Baldinger breaks down how the New York Giants’ pass rush duo was “no hit” by the Minnesota Vikings with ease.

One of the bright spots coming into the 2024 season for the New York Giants was their dynamic pass rush duo of outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux and edge rusher Brian Burns.

Their performance in the Giants’ 28-6 opening-week loss to the Minnesota Vikings was less than inspiring. In fact, it was practically invisible.

Vikings offensive tackles Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill kept the duo off the stat sheet — no sacks and just one QB hit between them.

The Giants had just one sack, by defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, and the lack of pressure allowed quarterback San Darnold to operate unfettered. He completed 19 of 24 passes for 208 yards and a touchdown for a QB rating of 113.2.

Retired offensive lineman and current NFL analyst Brian Baldinger broke down the Vikings’ dominance.

On Monday, head coach Brian Daboll said the preparation was not the issue, the Vikings just did an excellent job in pass protection.

“I think some of the games were good, the stunts and the games we used,” said Daboll. “I’d say the pressure was really good inside with Dexter when he was lined up in there. Again, they played the game. They played it well. They were playing in favorable situations. They get up, we get down.

“The game’s controlled a little bit. So, we got to do a better job of playing complementary football. Offense, defense, kicking game to make sure that we can get into more of those situations.”

After the game, a frustrated Thibodeaux was short with reporters, dodging questions about the egg he and his team just laid.

Thibodeaux has to be more accommodating and mature than this. As they say, success has a million mothers while failure is an orphan. He’s got to stay professional win or lose.

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Three Vikings make ESPN’s top 100 players for 2024 list

ESPN released their top 100 players for 2024, and three Minnesota Vikings make the list, with Justin Jefferson leading the way at 3.

The NFL’s preseason is over, and the regular season is finally approaching. Less than two weeks before the season kicks off, media outlets are getting one last push of content in anticipation of the season. That includes ESPN unveiling their picks for the top 100 players of 2024.

To create their list, ESPN surveyed dozens of in-house NFL experts to obtain their opinions on players for the upcoming season. The criteria were solely focused on projecting the coming season, disregarding past performance.

The Minnesota Vikings have three players on the list for this season. The first player on the list is offensive tackle Christian Darrisaw, who comes in at number 97 for ESPN. In their justification, they point out that Darrisaw’s movement skills are one of his best features as a lineman. He can block in space on screens and quick passes.

His “signature stat” was his run block win rate of 77%, which is the highest on the team. Their only question about Darrisaw—and likely why he isn’t significantly higher on this list—is his injury history. Still, they believe that Darrisaw will be selected for a Pro Bowl and/or All-Pro selection shortly.

Speaking of injuries, the next Viking on the list is tight end T.J. Hockenson, who comes in at number 79. However, Hockenson is likely to start the season on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list and miss the beginning portion of the season.

Despite that, when Hockenson returns, he will likely be a major part of the Vikings’ offense. His “signature stat” is that he is one of only three tight ends to have 50 or more receptions and 500 or more receiving yards in each of the past four seasons, joining Kansas City Chiefs Travis Kelce and Houston Texans’ Dalton Schultz.

Unsurprisingly, the final Vikings player on ESPN’s Top 100 for 2024 is Justin Jefferson. Jefferson kicks off the top 3 for ESPN’s projection, coming in behind only quarterbacks Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes, making Jefferson the highest-rated non-quarterback on the list. Which goes along well with his new contract that makes him the highest-paid non-quarterback in league history.

Despite playing only 10 games in 2023 due to a lingering hamstring injury, Jefferson still turned in his fourth-straight season over 1,000 yards, despite the quarterback carousel the Vikings experienced after Kirk Cousins’s injury. Jefferson proved last season that it doesn’t matter who throws him the ball; he’s going to produce.

He will have to prove that again this season, as the Vikings are slated to have Sam Darnold as their starting quarterback, who has famously struggled so far in his career. If Darnold struggles again this season, it could be a repeat at the position for Minnesota.

Jefferson’s “signature stat” is his average of nearly 100 yards (98.3) per game over his four seasons, which is the highest mark in NFL history for players with at least 50 career games.

Vikings’ star offensive tackle heaps praise on the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year

“I haven’t gone against nothing like that before.”

The Minnesota Vikings and Cleveland Browns underwent two days of joint practices before their preseason game on Saturday that left their star left tackle Christian Darrisaw in complete awe of defensive end Myles Garrett.

In most cases, these joint practices are a far better indication than the preseason game the Browns and Vikings will play on Saturday afternoon. The starters will likely sit during the actual games, but it was all iron sharpening iron between the first teams over the last two days.

This included Darrisaw getting a healthy dose of Garrett. Here is what Darrisaw, an obvious Pro Bowl snub from a year ago, had to say about the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year:

“He’s special. Special. One-of-one. I haven’t gone against nothing like that before. The things that he’s capable of doing… He uses all his tools in his bag.”

The Browns are hoping that rookie first rounder Tyler Guyton feels the same way when the Dallas Cowboys come to Cleveland when Week 1 rolls around. The rookie better be ready for a baptism by fire.

Vikings OT Christian Darrisaw is a fan of rookie Dallas Turner

Rookies can have a rough start to camp as the veterans welcome them to the NFL. So far, Dallas Turner has impressed his veteran teammates.

Rookies usually have a rough start to their careers in training camp as the veterans welcome them to the NFL. Dallas Turner welcomes the challenge and has impressed his veteran teammates, specifically Christian Darrisaw.

In a piece written by Mark Craig of the Star Tribune, Darrisaw spoke about his early impressions of the 2024 first-round draft pick.

“Ah, man, he’ll be all right, he’s learning. He’s got the talent. Anything I can do to help.”

The mentorship is something that the team seems to have envisioned by the coaching staff and front office when they made the selection. With Darrisaw getting a contract extension this offseason, he will be around for the duration of Turner’s rookie deal and that excites coach Kevin O’Connell.

“As I talked about with CD in the hours after CD’s extension, it’s like, ‘Hey man, not only can you elevate our entire offensive group, how cool is it going to be as you watch Dallas Turner one-on-one against you in practice grow to be a guy who pushes you to be better?’ ”

Several teams have shown this blueprint to work well. Some examples are the Cleveland Browns with Myles Garrett and Jedrick Wills, the Pittsburgh Steelers with T.J. Watt and Broderick Jones, and many more.

The Vikings have started unveiling their plan through their selections and personnel decisions. It may take some time but the plan is one that leads to sustained success in most cases.