The Minnesota Vikings were patiently waiting for left tackle Christian Darrisaw to be ready to acclimate back into team drills. That ended up happening on Wednesday, as Darrisaw ended up going in with the first team for 11 on 11 drills.
This is a huge deal for the Vikings. When Darrisaw tore his ACL against the Los Angeles Rams on October 24th, there were some serious questions about when he would end up returning to the field. He was lucky enough to have his surgery pretty quickly after his injury, which put a return in week one on the table.
When Darrisaw was on the field for the start of mandatory minicamp, it was somewhat of a surprise. However, it all ended up being a part of the plan for his return to the field. Darrisaw didn’t work with the team during the other two days of mandatory minicamp, as it was used to see how his knee would respond to ramping up the activity.
Things have obviously gone well for Darrisaw, as he got into the team portion of practice during just the second day of padded practice.
What this does for the Vikings is bring a lot of confidence that he will be ready for week one. With first-year starting quarterback J.J. McCarthy taking over, it’s the ideal situation to start the season, as it will help insulate him for the start of the season.
Now, it’s also far from a guarantee that Darrisaw will start the season as the starting left tackle. The Vikings have been norotiously cautious when it comes to injuries. Last season, tight end T.J. Hockenson didn’t return until November, which was over 10 months removed from the injury. That precedent could end up looming large for the Vikings when it comes to when Darrisaw could return.
Only time will tell, but things are looking more optimistic.
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