T.J. Hockenson Provides Update on Injury Recovery
Two months ago, T.J. Hockenson personally provided an update on his recovery from a torn ACL. “They haven’t really put a timeline on it. We’re just kinda taking it day by day, week by week, there’s just so many variables that you can go through in this process,” Hockenson said via NFL.com in May.
T.J. Hockenson Provides Update on Injury Recovery
In July, the communication is a little rosier.
“It’s been great, yeah. We’re running now, doing a lot of change-of-direction stuff,” Hockenson said on Bussin with the Boys Tuesday.
He said he felt like a “normal person” again and added: “At the point I’m at now, I feel really comfortable about being able to come back and be the player I was and even be better. That’s huge for me.”
The show’s hosts attempted to nail down Hockenson on a tentative return date of Week 5 in London, though the veteran Viking quickly backed out of any concrete timetable. Instead, he insisted the recovery was trending well and in the right direction on the whole.
Detroit Lions defender Kerby Joseph, a former teammate of Hockenson’s, injured him in December, ending his 2023 campaign and probably jeopardizing the beginning of this year’s hurrah. Many Vikings fans have prepared for a Hockenson-less start to 2024, and that outcome might actually bleed further into the season than most realize.
A likely outcome could be the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list, which would sideline Hockenson for six games. And if that occurs, Minnesota would turn to a hodgepodge of fill-in tight ends, including Robert Tonyan, Josh Oliver, Johnny Mundt, Nick Muse, and N’Keal Harry. Newcomers Trey Knox and Sammis Reyes also live on the current 90-man roster.
Two weeks after the Hockenson injury, the same Lions defender ended Los Angeles Rams tight end Tyler Higbee’s season with a similar hit. Higbee is in the same recovery boat as Hockenson.
Hockenson told reporters about his injury earlier this offseason, “Obviously, I wasn’t too happy about it. That’s not a fun one to take. That’s not necessarily based on him as a player. I got nothing against him. I’ve played with him in Detroit, and I understand that’s kind of what they expect you to do in the league. But on the same hand, I’d much rather gone down with a concussion for two weeks than to have to go through this for nine months.”
Hockenson was on the brink of becoming the Vikings’ first 1,000+ yard tight end in 42 years before the ACL tear in 2023. Joe Senser achieved the mark in 1981, and Hockenson fell 40 yards short. When wide receiver Justin Jefferson was injured for seven games in October and November, Hockenson was often the glue that kept the offense together.
Thankfully, his recovery status is more optimistic than the last update, but it will remain a storyline for Minnesota leading up to the regular season.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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