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Christian Darrisaw sounds a little concerned about latest injury issue
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- Christian Darrisaw sounds a little concerned about latest injury issue
Vikings standout left tackle Christian Darrisaw was a limited participant in the team's first practice of the week on Thursday , which is generally a good sign. But when Darrisaw spoke to the media in the locker room after practice, he sounded at least a little concerned that his shoulder injury could keep him out of Monday night's game.
"We're just taking it a day at time," Darrisaw said when asked if his shoulder is OK.
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"I trust this training staff. At the end of the day, it just comes down to being smart, listening to what they're saying and give them good feedback on how my body's feeling. When Monday gets here, we'll see."
That doesn't exactly sound like a player who is fully confident he'll be able to go on Monday against the Bills. The specifics of the shoulder issue Darrisaw is dealing with, coming out of last week's loss in Detroit, are unclear. Kevin O'Connell described it as "shoulder soreness" on Monday.
"The early days of treatment here have been encouraging enough that we can get him out there and get him practicing a little bit today, and then we'll see how he feels," O'Connell said before practice on Thursday.
It'll be worth keeping a close eye on the injury reports on Friday and Saturday to see if anything changes regarding Darrisaw's status. It would obviously be a big blow if the Vikings have to start ex-Bill Ryan Van Demark at left tackle on Monday night.
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Update: False alarm? Darrisaw was listed as a full participant in Friday's practice.
Darrisaw has played 330 of the Vikings' 437 offensive snaps this season (76 percent). He exited their Week 4 game against the Dolphins with a concussion and then sat out the following week against the Saints. Last year, while still dealing with the effects of a severe 2024 knee injury, Darrisaw played in 10 games and totaled about 50 percent of the Vikings' offensive snaps.
This is the second straight season where Darrisaw has played well but hasn't quite looked like the elite tackle he was from 2022 until his injury in '24. His PFF grades, which are just one subjective metric, support that notion. He's been at roughly 66 this year and last year, after being in the 81-90 range in each of the three previous seasons.
PFF has charged Darrisaw with five sacks allowed in six games this season, which is already one away from his career-high in 15 games in 2023. More notable is that Darrisaw has easily the worst run-blocking grade of his career this season.
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The Vikings' 2021 first-round pick is in the first year of a four-year, $104 million contract. Their hope is that as he gets further and further away from the knee injury, the best version of Darrisaw will return.
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This story was originally published by Bring Me The Sports on Nov 6, 2026, where it first appeared in the MN Vikings section. Add Bring Me The Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
