The Vikings continue to be without their first-round pick and hopeful left tackle starter, and the wait will continue. Christian Darrisaw underwent his second core muscle surgery of the year Wednesday.
Darrisaw met with the same specialist who performed his initial 2021 surgery, per KSTP’s Darren Wolfson (on Twitter), and had what NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero classifies as a minor procedure. The Vikings remain hopeful Darrisaw will be ready for Week 1 (Twitter link).
Those hopes may be a bit optimistic, with Darrisaw having yet to practice fully with the Vikings since being taken 23rd overall in April. The Virginia Tech product attempted to address this issue ahead of the draft, with a January surgery, but the problem has persisted. Although Darrisaw has participated somewhat in Minnesota’s training camp, Courtney Cronin of ESPN.com notes those reps have only come in walkthroughs with the second-team offense. While Darrisaw may well make it back early in the season, this nagging injury has deprived him of critical work ahead of his rookie year.
Minnesota has used veteran Rashod Hill as its first-string left tackle instead, with 2020 second-round pick Ezra Cleveland — a left tackle at Boise State — still at guard. Hill has been with the Vikings for five seasons, working as a spot starter. He has started just two games over the past two seasons. Hill re-signed with the Vikings this offseason.