Vikings Strike Record-Breaking Extension With Star Lineman Christian Darrisaw

The Minnesota Vikings have agreed to terms on a four-year extension with left tackle Christian Darrisaw, who reset the market with the historic deal.

NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported details of the extension just minutes after it was announced on July 23.

“It’s a four-year, $113 million extension with $77M guaranteed for Christian Darrisaw, whose fifth-year option was exercised in the spring,” Pelissero wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter). “Now he’s locked up for the long haul.”

Selected 23rd overall in 2021, Darrisaw secured a contract worth a league-high $28.25 million a season — slightly above fellow 2021 draftee Penei Sewell, who was selected No. 7 overall.

The Detroit Lions star right tackle signed a four-year, $112 million extension in April after his second Pro Bowl nod in his three seasons in the league.

Darriaw has yet to make a Pro Bowl in his career but didn’t have much left to prove.

After missing the better part of seven games in his first two seasons due to injury, Darrisaw played a career-high 15 games and recorded the third-highest pass-block grade (85.3) among all offensive linemen who played at least 50 percent of offensive snaps during the 2023 season, per Pro Football Focus (PFF).

He proved to make the difference for a Vikings team that hasn’t had an offensive line ranked inside PFF’s top-15 units since 2014.

The 27th-ranked offensive line by Pro Football Focus (PFF) ahead of Darrisaw’s rookie year, the Vikings unit has climbed into fringe top-10 territory, finishing last season ranked as the 12th-best unit.

Darrisaw’s extension keeps him under contract through the 2029 season.

Christian Darrisaw Living Up to Comparisons to Hall of Famer

When Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Kevin O’Connell took over as the Vikings’ brain trust in 2022, Darrisaw was identified as a franchise-building block for the next decade.

Comparisons to San Francisco 49ers Hall of Fame left tackle Trent Williams began to circulate national media. They soon connected Darrisaw and Williams at joint practices with the two teams in 2022.

Williams was in agreement with the Vikings about Darrisaw, who grew up watching Williams when he played for Washington.

“I love C.D.,’’ Williams said of Darrisaw in a 2022 Pioneer Press article. “He’s a great kid. He’s open and willing to learning. He’s physically gifted. … I do see a lot of myself in him, especially the young Trent.”

Darrisaw had a breakout year that season posting the second-highest PFF blocking grade (90.4), behind only Williams himself.

Vikings Have Finalized the Future of the Offense

After the Vikings signed Justin Jefferson to a historic extension, it wouldn’t have been a surprise if they waited a year to extend Darrisaw.

But with two of the offense’s youngest stars secured long-term, the attention now turns to the maturation of J.J. McCarthy, the heir to the Vikings offense after the team moved away from Kirk Cousins.

The Vikings are in no rush to get McCarthy into action.

But their window to make a run is prepared to be open with a star-studded offense, developing defense and ample cap space to fill in roster holes over the next four seasons.