Vikings' Christian Darrisaw talks about returning from knee injury

Vikings star left tackle Christian Darrisaw continues to make progress in his return from last October's major season-ending knee injury. He recently started participating in some limited 11-on-11 reps at training camp for the first time, and he'll continue to follow the ramp-up plan the team has set for him moving forward.

Darrisaw spoke to reporters on Friday and gave a positive update on how he's feeling. He was specifically asked if his body has responded the way he expected it to after pushing it in various new steps throughout this process.

"It's crazy, it has," he said. "It's kinda like the uncertain, not really knowing what to expect after a day on the field, leading all the way back to when we had minicamp and now being here in fall camp, really testing it out against a real defense. Everything's been trending in the right direction."

Darrisaw said he's had to trust that his knee is going to hold up, especially as he's returned to playing real football lately.

"You kind of question yourself a little bit, but going out there against guys like that, you can't have no hesitation," he said. "I talked to a few guys that's dealt with knee surgeries and things like that, and they said you just gotta trust it, and I trust it. Everything's been feeling good."

On multiple occasions, Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell has heaped praise on Darrisaw for how he's handled and approached his rehab process dating back to when he suffered the injury. Darrisaw surprised some people when he was back on the field during minicamp earlier this summer, and he's now progressing well early in training camp.

What that means in terms of his potential availability for the regular season opener on September 8 is still somewhat unclear.

"I've been real careful, even in my dialogue with him, about what's out there," O'Connell said on Friday. "We all know what's coming, and he certainly has done everything in his power to try to make that happen. What I don't want is for there to be some level of disappointment or like something wasn't done, if that doesn't happen.

"So as of right now, internally, we have some ideas of what that timeline ultimately will look like. And it's clear with him taking reps already, even before the calendar clicked over to August, what that timeline is for all of us, hopefully. But regardless of how the next month or so plays out with his readiness and what's best for Christian, nothing will diminish what he's been able to accomplish, which has been remarkable."

Reading into that answer, it sounds like it's still very much up in the air as to whether or not Darrisaw will have a chance to play in Week 1 against the Bears. It'll all depend on how he progresses over the next month and how his body responds. The safe assumption is that the Vikings will exercise plenty of caution with one of their best players, so he'll need to be pretty close to 100 percent to get cleared.

Darrisaw, 26, is heading into his fifth NFL season. He's missed 20 of 68 games over the last four years, but when he's been on the field, he's proven to be one of the most dominant offensive linemen in the league. His health is critical to J.J. McCarthy's success in 2025 and beyond.

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