Matthew Coller: Darrisaw's extension puts all the pieces in place around McCarthy

Reaction to the Vikings announcing an extension for their left tackle...

Christian Darrisaw / Image courtesy of the Minnesota Vikings

Last year the Minnesota Vikings were not able to come to a contract extension agreement with Justin Jefferson and it ultimately ended up costing them a few bills more to get that deal completed this spring. They did not let the same thing happen with star left tackle Christian Darrisaw.

On Tuesday the Vikings and Darrisaw agreed to a four-year extension worth $113 million with $43 million at signing and $77 million in total guarantees, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Darrisaw is now the highest paid tackle in the NFL by average annual value and total guarantees.

While he somehow has not been given a Pro Bowl nod yet, in the last two years Darrisaw has ranked as the No. 2 and No. 6 overall graded tackle by Pro Football Focus. Last season he had the third highest pass blocking grade and registered only one game in which he graded below a 65 grade.

Darrisaw’s extension solidifies the supporting cast around rookie quarterback JJ McCarthy. If all goes to plan the 10th overall draft pick in this year’s draft will never have concerns about his blindside throughout the entirety of his rookie deal. That’s quite an advantage considering that in 2023 zero quarterbacks posted quarterback ratings over 100 when pressured but 13 QBs had ratings over 100 when kept clean, including Brock Purdy’s 125.4 league-leading mark.

The Vikings now can boast possibly the best set of circumstances that a top-10 quarterback has inherited in recent memory. With Darrisaw and Jefferson under contract as well as Pro Bowl right tackle Brian O’Neill through 2026, Jordan Addison on his rookie contract and TJ Hockenson signed through 2027.

Locking Darrisaw in for the foreseeable future not only benefits the young quarterback but it sets in stone the types of foundational stars that are required to compete for a championship. If we look even beyond the offensive side, offseason additions pass rushers Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel and linebacker Blake Cashman are also under contract for multiple seasons along with LB Ivan Pace Jr., CB Mekhi Blackmon and S Josh Metellus. The only starting players scheduled to hit free agency next year are CB Byron Murphy Jr., DT Harrison Phillips, S Cam Bynum, S Harrison Smith and RB Aaron Jones.

Because Kirk Cousins’ contract officially comes off the books after this season, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah will still have plenty of cap space to use on the roster despite the recent spending. OverTheCap.com lists the Vikings as having $47 million in cap space for 2025 and a number of players will be eligible for contract restructures to make even more room for free agents.

Previously Adofo-Mensah referenced the team looking at their timeline through two-year windows. Presumably within that window they would be looking to quickly elevate from a team that is currently sitting with the 24th best Super Bowl odds presently to a roster that makes a case to be in line with NFC clubs like the Lions, 49ers and Eagles.

Getting Darrisaw signed after his third season and prior to camp — particularly on a deal that will look very favorable by this time next year assuming that the salary cap continues to rise — is a cherry on top for a Vikings front office that revamped major parts of the roster over the last two offseasons. On Monday, Adofo-Mensah talked about the roster’s journey from the time he took over in 2020 to the current squad, which is mostly covered in his fingerprints.

“It's this never-ending pursuit of building the team you want to build and being able to do the things you want to do on a football field,” Adofo-Mensah said. “I do think it feels like in a different place than it has been in the previous [years].”

The Vikings still hit the field for training camp on Wednesday with plenty of uncertainty all over the roster but there will be no questions whether Darrisaw will be in purple for many more camps to come. That should be a boost in morale after a difficult past few weeks leading into camp.