There’s a Verdict on T.J. Hockenson’s Return
T.J. Hockenson will not be ready for the start of the Minnesota Vikings’ regular season, which is 12 days away.
There’s a Verdict on T.J. Hockenson’s Return
Instead, Hockenson will miss at least the first four games of 2024, formally sidelined to the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeted Tuesday morning, “Minnesota is leaving TE T.J. Hockenson on the Physically Unable to Perform List, which means he is ineligible to be active during the first four games of the season, per sources. Hockenson still is recovering from last season’s torn ACL but is expected to return this season.”
The tweet arrived as the Vikings will trim their roster to 53 players by 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Hockenson will not factor into the regular season roster, eyeing a midseason return.
Detroit Lions defender Kerby Joseph, a former teammate of Hockenson’s, injured him in December with a dirty hit, ending his 2023 campaign and casting his 2024 return date into jeopardy. Many Vikings fans have prepared for a Hockenson-less start to 2024, and that outcome played out on Tuesday.
Without Hockenson in the first handful of games, Minnesota will turn to some combination of Josh Oliver, Johnny Mundt, Nick Muse, Robert Tonyan, and N’Keal Harry. A tight end pecking order will emerge on Tuesday with the 53-man roster announcement.
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 adhesive that kept the offense together.
Meanwhile, he commented on his recovery last month. “It’s been great, yeah. We’re running now, doing a lot of change-of-direction stuff,” Hockenson said on Bussin with the Boys six weeks ago. Hockenson 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. He merely insisted the recovery was trending well and in the right direction on the whole.
Ironically, Hockenson will be eligible to return for that very London game.
Hockenson turned 27 this summer.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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