MN Vikings OL Leader Seemingly Fires Stray at Christian Darrisaw

The Minnesota Vikings surprised everyone around the league when they finished their 2025 season on a five-game win streak, to pull above .500 at 9-8. But as they say down south, “you can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig” — which is a perfect metaphorical expression for the 2025 Vikings.

At the end of the day, a playoff appearance would have been great and undoubtedly would have given JJ McCarthy another opportunity to win over coaches and fans, had he somehow played well.

But even if the Minnesota Vikings would have found their way into the NFC postseason bracket, this team as currently constructed, is not capable of making it to a Super Bowl .

And the Vikings’ main problem is no secret. JJ McCarthy was not ready to be an NFL quarterback, an issue they must fix this offseason unless they want to be in the same spot again one year from now.

Even beyond McCarthy, however, the MN Vikings had a bunch of other problems in their locker room. The best way to describe it is from a health perspective… both on and off the field.

Yes, this team struggled with physical injuries that derailed 2025, especially on the offensive line. But all year long there have been rumblings of something even scarier — an unhealthy locker room.

Brian O’Neill firing strays at Christian Darrisaw…?

And in his exit interview this week with reporters at the Star Tribune, including longtime beat writer and insider Ben Goessling, team captain and offensive line leader, Brian O’Neill, seemed to have an alternative agenda he was determined to get to, even if it took a side-street or two to get it done.

When asked to review the play of the offensive line, as a whole, and specifically his immediate reaction to rookie Donovan Jackson, O’Neill used the opportunity to fire what appears to be a pretty deliberate stray at Christian Darrisaw and the well-compensated left tackle’s willingness to stay on the field

Hmm… is that Brian O'Neill calling out Christian Darrisaw for not trying hard enough to be on the field this season?

"As for the overall course of the offensive line, [Brian O'Neill] gave Donovan Jackson a lot of credit because he said, 'If you can play, you should play'."… pic.twitter.com/Otl8DAziDF

— Minnesota Sports Fan (@realmnsportsfan) January 8, 2026

“As for the overall course of the offensive line, [Brian O’Neill] gave Donovan Jackson a lot of credit because he said, “If you can play, you should play”. You can take that how you’d like.

He said Will Fries is the guy that came off a broken leg last year and he’s the one that was on the field the most. So I give him credit for that. It was probably the best quote out of the locker room session.”

Ben Goessling – Access Vikings Podcast (Star Tribune)

Obviously, Darrisaw struggled to return from a midseason knee injury that cost him the second half of the season last year. By the end of 2025, he was back on IR. After we were sold on Christian being ahead of schedule on his recovery, we saw the opposite when practice reports started coming out.

No doubt MN Vikings leader is speaking to Darrisaw

The 26-year-old missed practices regularly every week, started only 10 of Minnesota’s 17 games this season, and half of them he left early, whether it was because he pulled himself out or because the coaches did. Of course, O’Neill doesn’t mention Darrisaw by name… but who else would he be talking about?

Center Ryan Kelly was the other offensive lineman who missed a lot of the season, but he’s the opposite case to his left tackle teammate. Most of us were begging Kelly to stop trying to play, after his season was lit on fire by repeated concussions.

Then there’s Will Fries (who played all 17 games for the MN Vikings this season) and the aforementioned Donovan Jackson (14 games), both of whom O’Neill praised. So, that leaves Darrisaw as the team Captain’s obvious target.

His weapon: The media.