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Vikings’ Christian Darrisaw to reach goal he had as a kid of playing at FedEx Field

chris tomasson, pioneer press
·2 min read

When Christian Darrisaw was a kid, his youth football team held practices at a Maryland site where FedEx Field could be seen in the background. The young player often would envision what it would be like to one day play at that NFL stadium.

On Sunday, it will happen. Darrisaw, in his second season as the Vikings’ left tackle, will be in the lineup to face the Washington Commanders at FedEx Field in Landover, Md.

“It’s going to be dope,’’ Darrisaw said. “It’s going to be a great experience, going back home to play in that stadium that I used to practice right behind. I grew up wanting to play in that stadium.”

Darrisaw, who is from Upper Marlboro, Md., and played youth football between the ages of 8 to 14 for the Spirit of Faith Warriors, said his home is about 15 minutes from FedEx Field. He’s expecting about 40 family members and close friends to be on hand Sunday.

It’s a second homecoming for Darrisaw, who last November played for the Vikings in Baltimore, which is about 40 minutes from his home. He said he had about 35 family members and friends attend that game.

Darrisaw didn’t grow up a Washington fan because his mother is from Philadelphia and he followed the Eagles. But he grew up admiring a number of players who then played for Washington, including tackle Trent Williams, wide receiver Santana Moss and running back Clinton Portis.

O’Neill contract restructured

The Vikings have converted $1.869 million of tackle Brian O’Neill’s base salary into a signing bonus, creating about $1.5 million in salary-cap room.

Minnesota previously had about $300,000 cap room, the lowest in the NFL. Teams can convert a portion of a player’s base salary into a signing bonus and spread it out over future seasons without necessarily needing his permission.

O’Connell family addition

Leah O’Connell, the wife of Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell, gave birth on Friday night to a baby girl, the team announced.

The Vikings said that the baby is doing fine and that O’Connell made the scheduled flight Saturday for the game at Washington.

Smith fined by NFL

Vikings safety Harrison Smith was fined $15,914 by the NFL for unnecessary roughness for an unpenalized hit on Arizona wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins in the third quarter of last Sunday’s game at U.S. Bank Stadium, a source said.

Vikings players who had personal fouls in the game who were not penalized included linebacker Eric Kendricks (unnecessary roughness), cornerback Patrick Peterson (horse collar tackle) and center Garrett Bradbury (unsportsmanlike conduct).

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