Why are the Vikings being so cautious with Christian Darrisaw?

All eyes were on star left tackle Christian Darrisaw last week as the Vikings prepared for a primetime match against the Chicago Bears He went through an intense workout with offensive line coach Chris Kuper in the hours leading up to kickoff before ultimately being ruled out Maybe specific figured the Vikings entirely didn t want to threat Darrisaw returning from torn anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his left knee on the iffy playing surface at Soldier Field The assumption was that he would be ready to go against Atlanta on Sunday night at U S Bank Stadium Not quite After showing up on the injury review as a limited participant twice this week Darrisaw was ruled out for the primetime event against the Falcons That raised a red flag considering he was listed as questionable last week Demanded if Darrisaw had suffered a setback head coach Kevin O Connell replied Nope He went on to explain that the Vikings wouldn t have been able to let Darrisaw go through those simulated reps with Kuper last week unless he was listed as questionable It was a total positive O Connell reported It was just allowing Christian to go feel the atmosphere and start getting his mind in that place where he could go It s still unclear when Darrisaw will make his highly anticipated return He continues to progress O Connell announced He s still so far ahead of schedule and is in such a great place on the daily that we want to continue that As eager as everybody is to have Darrisaw protecting the blindside of young quarterback J J McCarthy O Connell emphasized that the Vikings are approaching this situation with a focus on the long term rather than the short term We re going to continue to work through it the right way as we kind of like to handle everything around here O Connell revealed There s really not much more that I can say at this time that would be of any use Smith inactive After being listed as questionable this week veteran safety Harrison Smith was inactive for the Vikings against the Falcons He continues to work his way back from a personal wellbeing issue that dates back to training camp The Vikings other inactives were Darrisaw edge rusher Andrew Van Ginkel cornerback Jeff Okudah linebacker Austin Keys left guard Joe Huber and quarterback Max Brosmer who was available on an crisis basis Allen honored It s fitting that legendary defensive end Jared Allen led the Skol Chant and sounded the Gjallarhorn before kickoff following his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame last month He also was scheduled to be recognized at halftime with a ceremony in his honor Related Articles The Loop Fantasy Football Update Week Last-minute moves Donovan Jackson not satisfied despite impressive debut with Vikings Vikings vs Falcons What to know ahead of Week matchup Vikings vs Falcons championship picks Another young quarterback clash How the Skol Chant became synonymous with the Vikings