Vikings LT Christian Darrisaw Will Return to Practice Wednesday, Do Individual Drills

It's a positive step for the first-round pick, but he still has a ways to go before supplanting Rashod Hill as the starting left tackle.

It was an encouraging sign for Christian Darrisaw's health when the Vikings placed three players on injured reserve last week and he wasn't one of them. This week brings another step in the right direction: Darrisaw will likely return to practice on Wednesday and do some individual work, Mike Zimmer said on Monday.

"We'll just have to see how he progresses," Zimmer added.

Darrisaw's NFL career has gotten off to a very slow start as he's struggled to recover from a nagging injury to his core/groin area. He initially had surgery to fix the issue in January, but must have aggravated the injury at some point, because he barely got on the field at all during the offseason. It got to the point where in mid-August, Darrisaw went back to see the same specialist who performed the initial surgery, and had another procedure done.

"That’s a good question as far as where he’s at," Zimmer said. "I think he’s practiced four times since he’s been here. It’s an unknown."

This obviously wasn't what the Vikings had in mind when they drafted the talented Virginia Tech product 23rd overall in April. With Riley Reiff in Cincinnati, Darrisaw was expected to step in as the starting left tackle from Day 1. But all rookies have to earn their roles, and you can't do that if you're not on the practice field.

For now, Rashod Hill is locked in as the starter there. The career backup has made 17 starts in five years, and the Vikings think he's made progress as a run blocker in recent years. Hill has always been fairly solid in pass protection, even if the sack he allowed to Colts rookie Kwity Paye in the second preseason game was a bit concerning. He'll be the starter this Sunday in Cincinnati at minimum, and it would shock me if he wasn't the starter in Week 2 as well. There's a chance he remains in that role all year, depending on Darrisaw's recovery and how the two perform.

Hill has the experience edge, but there's no question Darrisaw's physical tools and overall talent upside are on a different level. There's a reason why he was a first-rounder and Hill went undrafted in 2016. If Darrisaw can get back on the field this week and start ramping up towards full participation, it'll give him a shot to impress the coaches and potentially take over that starting job if Hill falters.

"I think the biggest thing is watching him practice and then we start seeing him and start seeing him develop and not making mistakes," Zimmer said. "Some of those things are going to show up early. Especially when he hasn’t practiced in awhile. Is it the right footwork? Is he making mistakes? How’s he pass protecting? It’s just going to be an evaluation each week and then when we decide to put him in there then we do. Or if we do."

"I need to see him practice first. That would be the first step, practice, and then as we move forward, I mean, I don’t know, he’s not in terrific football shape because he hasn’t practiced. So we’ve got to see that too. You’ve got to see if he’s making mistakes and if he’s doing the things correctly. So much of the offensive line is so much about footwork and working together and getting off the ball at the same time and combination blocks. So there’s a lot of things we have not seen him do."

The earliest I could conceivably see Darrisaw entering the starting lineup is Week 3 against the Seahawks, but even that is only 2.5 weeks after his potential limited return to practice this Wednesday. Darrisaw would have to prove he's healthy, knock the rust off quickly, and Hill would have to struggle in the first two games for that to happen. More realistic is Darrisaw getting the nod sometime in October — or later, or not until 2022.

At least by keeping Darrisaw off of IR, the Vikings are giving him a chance to earn his way into the lineup early in the season. If he wasn't able to start practicing until the end of this month, his debut would've been delayed more significantly.

We'll just have to wait for updates on his participation level and how he looks in practice. Until then, it's Hill's job to lose. A potentially big season for the veteran starts on Sunday against Trey Hendrickson and the Bengals.

Thanks for reading. Make sure to bookmark this site and check back daily for the latest Vikings news and analysis all season long. Also, follow me on Twitter and feel free to ask me any questions on there.