Vikings Bench Rashod Hill, Insert Rookie Christian Darrisaw at Left Tackle

Darrisaw took over at LT in the second quarter against the Lions. Hill didn't appear to get hurt.

Let the Christian Darrisaw era begin.

In the second quarter of their game against the Lions, leading 6-3 after a couple field goals, the Vikings made the move. They benched left tackle Rashod Hill and put the rookie first-round pick Darrisaw in the game to start their third possession of the afternoon.

It immediately paid dividends with a touchdown drive, although that may well have happened with Hill anyways.

But this doesn't appear to be a temporary thing. Darrisaw has the job, and it's his to keep going forward — or at least it seems that way.

Update: It appears this may have all been premature. Rashod Hill came back into the game after the one drive and has been at left tackle ever since. Maybe he just got banged up. The Christian Darrisaw era is on hold for now.

Post-game update: the Vikings ended up rotating Darrisaw and Hill throughout the game. Mike Zimmer said they wanted to ease Darrisaw into action since he hasn't practiced a lot. Original story continues below:

It's been a long, trying year for Darrisaw to get to this point. He had surgery in January to fix a groin issue that bothered him at Virginia Tech last season. Satisfied with his medical situation, the Vikings drafted Darrisaw 23rd overall in April to be their left tackle of the future.

However, Darrisaw's recovery didn't progress like the Vikings hoped it would. He didn't practice much, if at all, during the offseason, and ended up having a second procedure done on the groin injury in August. That set his timeline to see the field back even further.

Darrisaw slowly ramped up his work and has been a full participant in practice for the past couple weeks. The Vikings kept preaching patience and reminding reporters that Darrisaw needed to get into football shape, but it was time. After starting out on the field goal unit last week, Darrisaw is now Minnesota's left tackle.

The future is here. Let's see how he does.

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