David Bakhtiari was a five-time All-Pro tackle for the Packers before suffering a torn ACL on New Year's Eve 2020. He played just one game in 2021, eleven games in 2022 and then one game in 2023 before persistent problems with the knee knocked him down again.

Like Darrisaw, Bakhtiari had more than just a torn ACL.

“Everyone knows I tore my cruciate ligament. What people don’t know is that it wasn’t an isolated crack,” Bakhtiari told Cheesehead TV in January 2022. “Anytime there is a cruciate ligament, there can always be other complications. I had a small bit of my meniscus, which wasn't a big deal. And I got a little bit of cartilage.

It is unclear how serious Darrisaw's knee injury is. Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell has confirmed it is an ACL and MCL injury that will require surgery, but the extent of the MCL injury is unknown.

Bakhtiari's case may have been unusual. His return to the field was slowed by the ongoing need to drain fluid from his surgically repaired knee. He described the fluid feeling like a “water balloon” in his knee, leaking more than five ounces of fluid at one point, which Packers doctors said was a team record.

He returned in 2022 and played in 11 games. Performance-wise, he didn't appear to be any worse, as he didn't allow a sack and was cited by Pro Football Focus for only 10 QB pressures allowed all season.

Bakhtiari had an offseason without surgery and was primed for big things in 2023 before further problems arose with his reconstructed knee. This time it wasn't his ACL or MCL. It wasn't even cartilage. It was damage to the femoral condyles, two rounded humps on the underside of the femur that help form the knee joint. This was also damaged when it was first injured on December 31, 2020.

He underwent another operation at the end of the season and has not played since. But he's out there, lurking in free agency, and probably eager to catch up with a contender. He said in June that he had more gas in the tank and that he was coming to Minnesota to reunite with his former teammate, running back Aaron Jones.

Bakhtiari is a ready-made elite option to keep the Vikings from crashing without Darrisaw. Additionally, he can guide Darrisaw through the early part of the ACL/MCL storm. It's a match made in heaven and the Vikings have to make the decision if they haven't already.

Bakhtiari is just one example of a top left tackle who suffered a serious knee injury. Unlike Bakhtiari, who was 29 years old and eight seasons into his NFL career when he was injured in 2020, Darrisaw is 25 and only in his fourth season. Perhaps it will benefit Darrisaw if he suffers the injury at a younger age.