The Minnesota Vikings experienced a significant setback when left tackle Christian Darrisaw tore ligaments in his left knee that removed one of their most irreplaceable players from the lineup for the remainder of the season.
That sure didn’t stop them from trying to find a sub.
The Vikings went back to work on the field on Wednesday after general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah acquired veteran Cam Robinson in a trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars for a future third-day draft pick, signaling a seriousness about not squandering a 5-0 start despite two straight losses and a major injury.
“When you lose a player like Christian Darrisaw it’s so catastrophic, because he means so much to your team and your offense, but also just from a standpoint of losing such a veteran presence that we rely so much on,” coach Kevin O’Connell said. “So to find a player of Cam’s caliber in-season like Kwesi was able to do, very much looking forward to having him here.”
Robinson was busy taking a physical exam and getting up to speed with his new surroundings on Wednesday, leaving him with little time to learn the playbook and his teammates before Sunday night’s game against Indianapolis. O’Connell left little doubt that he’d like to see Robinson slide right into the lineup to play the Colts, a team he just faced a month ago with the Jaguars, or at least take some snaps if he doesn’t start the game.
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“There might be some nuances to the run game or play-action protections here and there, but the tackle spot is one where on those weighty downs and drop-back passes and those things, you’re blocking the defensive end,” O’Connell said. “Whether we say peaches or whatever it is, it really doesn’t matter.”
Robinson, when healthy, has consistently graded as an above-average tackle over his career since the Jaguars drafted him 34th overall out of Alabama in 2017. He would provide a skill-set upgrade from the dependable veteran David Quessenberry, who took over for Darrisaw for the second half of Minnesota’s loss to the Los Angeles Rams last week.
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The other viable option would be to move left guard Blake Brandel into Darrisaw’s spot, where he started three games in 2022 while Darrisaw was in the concussion protocol, with Dalton Risner on the verge of making his season debut after hurting his back in training camp. Risner took over as the starter at left guard last year. O’Connell coyly declined to specify whether Brandel would stay at guard or slide over to tackle.
Drafted 23rd overall out of Virginia Tech in 2021, Darrisaw has steadily grown into one of the game’s best blind-side blockers.
“He just came in with a different attitude this year, and you saw it on the field: He was dominating guys,” center Garrett Bradbury said. “We didn’t blink about the left side. We could do whatever we needed to do over there, and we knew that was strapped down. That’s a testament to the player that he is, the work that he put in in the offseason, and the mentality that he approached with this year. I know he’ll take the same approach to this rehab and he’ll be back better than ever.”