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The Minnesota Vikings have been banged up all season long, and things aren’t likely to change on a short week ahead of a “Thursday Night Football” showdown with the Los Angeles Chargers in L.A. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported on Wednesday evening that two critical Vikings starters remained question marks approximately 24 hours ahead of kickoff. “RB Aaron Jones (hamstring) is questionable, as is LT Christian Darrisaw (knee),” Rapoport reported via social media. Darrisaw, one of the best left tackles in the NFL over the past few years when healthy, suffered a devastating knee injury during the middle of last season, tearing both his ACL and MCL. The recovery from that issue cost Darrisaw the first two games of the 2025 campaign. He then returned in Week 3 and ramped up to playing in 100% of the team’s offensive snaps, plus a few special teams snaps, against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 4. However, the Vikings pulled Darrisaw from their Week 5 contest early against the Cleveland Browns, telling media members it was part of a pre-determined plan to limit his snap count. Read More: Vikings’ Kirk Cousins Trade Rumors Heat Up Following JJ McCarthy News Minnesota Vikings offensive tackle Christian Darrisaw. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) Meanwhile, Jones has been out since Week 2 with his hamstring issue and has been more or less a non-factor for the Vikings to this point in the season. That said, his return could be enormous for a team that has had inconsistent play from the quarterback position since the opening drive of the season. Minnesota then entered the bye week, and Darrisaw returned to play 100% of the offensive snaps in a six-point loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. But his renewed presence on the injury report this week is the unfortunate continuation of a concerning trend that has rendered Darrisaw’s week-to-week availability uncertain and unreliable. Jones registered 51 receptions for 408 receiving yards and two scores last season to go along with 1,138 rushing yards and five touchdowns on the ground. Minnesota traded for running back Jordan Mason over the offseason, and Mason has been strong on the ground (380 yards and four scores this year) in place of Jones over the last four-plus contests. But Mason has caught just nine passes for 34 yards in six games in 2025 after producing just 14 total catches for 122 yards across three seasons with the San Francisco 49ers. Whenever second-year quarterback J.J. McCarthy can return to the starting lineup from a high ankle sprain he suffered against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 2, which won’t happen Thursday night in Los Angeles, as McCarthy is the third-string/emergency QB for the second week in a row, Jones’ presence as a pass-catcher out of the backfield could be a huge bonus for the rest of Minnesota’s season. And it should go without saying that a healthy Darrisaw drastically improves the offense’s prospects regardless of who lines up under center on any given Sunday. Read More: Sports Doctor Calls Out Vikings’ JJ McCarthy Decision
