The Minnesota Vikings are in the middle of minicamp as the team prepares for the upcoming season. JJ McCarthy is leading the way as the starting quarterback for the first time in his career after sitting out last season with an injury. On Tuesday, the second-year quarterback got some good news about one of his key protectors also returning from injury.

Minnesota announced that left tackle Christian Darrisaw returned to practice. He was spotted participating in individual drills, as he works his way back from a torn ACL he suffered in the Vikings' 30-20 Week 8 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

That's big news for the Vikings, as Darrisaw is one of the more consistent offensive linemen in the league. The 26-year-old left tackle should play a key role upon his return and help protect McCarthy throughout next season. Especially with this being JJ McCarthy's first time ever playing as a starting quarterback in the NFL.

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McCarthy, who is 22 years old, is coming off a torn ACL injury himself. He was potentially in the mix to start for the Vikings last season; however, he was ruled out for his entire rookie year before the season even started. Sam Darnold filled in and played well enough to earn a three-year, $100.5 million contract.

Minnesota might just be getting healthy at the right time. There's still plenty of time between now and Week 1. But the Vikings are hoping for big things next season after finding success in the 2024-25 campaign. Especially if McCarthy proves to be the franchise quarterback the team needs.

The last time he took the field, McCarthy was playing for the Michigan Wolverines under Jim Harbaugh. McCarthy helped lead the Wolverines to a championship in his final year of college football. That season, he recorded 2,991 passing yards and 25 total touchdowns (22 passing) while owning an impressive 72.3% completion percentage (led the Big-Ten Conference in completion percentage that season).