Minnesota Vikings left guard Donovan Jackson is likely to miss the rest of the regular season with a torn meniscus in his knee that will require surgery after the promising second-year player was injured in the first quarter of a 15-10 win over Miami.
Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell announced the news Monday, revealing another significant setback for an offense that has struggled to consistently move the ball despite the team’s 4-0 start. Jackson was a first-round draft pick out of Ohio State in 2025.
“It’s very, very unfortunate,” O’Connell said. “Don’t get off to a good start.”
Left tackle Christian Darrisaw also began the week with uncertainty about his availability for the upcoming game in New Orleans after he was placed in concussion protocol on Sunday. Darrisaw hurt his neck in the second quarter, returned in the third quarter and had to be pulled again for evaluation after another hit.
Donovan Jackson played in 14 games as a rookie, all starts, and started all four games for the Vikings in 2026 as well. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Joe Huber, a second-year player who made the team last season as an undrafted rookie out of Wisconsin, replaced Jackson. Ryan Van Demark, who signed with the Vikings as a free agent this year after three seasons with Buffalo, took over for Darrisaw.
Offensive line depth, which was a persistent problem last year as interior injuries piled up, could soon be boosted with the return of center/guard Michael Jurgens, who began the season on injured reserve. Jurgens will open his 21-day training window this week, O’Connell said.
The Vikings offense was also without star wide receiver Justin Jefferson (ankle) on Sunday, his first absence in nearly three years. Running back Jordan Mason (thumb) will miss at least one more game on injured reserve.
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Jefferson made “huge progress” last week, according to O’Connell, but he didn’t practice at all and was ruled out before the game. The Vikings have a bye in Week 6 and so could give him extra recovery time with just one more absence, but O’Connell said the schedule won’t be a factor in deciding when Jefferson returns.
“We’ll see how he does throughout the week,” O’Connell said. “I don’t have any real projection whether we will have it or not.”
Reporting by the Associated Press.