Sorting Out the T.J. Hockenson Bust Talk for Vikings, the Exiled Starter, and Soldier Field
Every weekend, VikingsTerritory tracks “nopedy nopes” for the Minnesota Vikings.
Vikings nopedy nopes: T.J. Hockenson bust talk, the chatter around an exiled Vikings starter, and the latest concerns tied to Soldier Field.
They’re items too false, too outrageous, or simply things that didn’t work out as planned: nopedy nopes.
Here’s the latest edition, with the regular season getting underway on Monday.
Vikings Nopedy Nopes | September 7th, 2025
It’s our weekly chronicle of nopedy nopes.
The Nopedy Nope: T.J. Hockenson is a bust.
Bleacher Report‘s Brad Gagnon created an “All Overpaid Team” this week and slapped tight end T.J. Hockenson on the roster, labeling the man a bust.
Gagnon explained: “At 28, T.J. Hockenson may be trending toward ‘bust’ status. The top-10 pick from 2019 flirted with success in his entry-level tenure with Detroit and flashed at times during his first full campaign with Minnesota, but a major knee injury suffered late that year sunk much of his 2024 season. He returned to play 10 games but averaged just 45.5 yards per outing and didn’t score a single touchdown.”
“In fact, Hockenson has scored just 23 times in his six-year NFL run. He’s gone over 750 yards just twice and has never hit the 1,000-yard plateau, and injuries have again been a factor this offseason for a guy who just hasn’t been consistently durable or a regular playmaker in his career. Meanwhile, the Vikings owe him $16.6 million in 2025, $21.4 million in 2026 and $23.4 million in 2027.”
Hockenson has tabulated 55 receiving yards per game in Minnesota, along with 8 total touchdowns in what amounts to approximately two full seasons.
He might’ve been hurt for half a season, but that doesn’t translate to a “bust.”
The Verdict: Nopedy nope on Hockenson as a bust. It doesn’t make sense.
The Nopedy Nope: Cam Robinson getting a starter’s job in Houston.
Robinson signed with the Texans during the offseason for one year and $10 million. Houston later drafted University of Minnesota tackle Aerontate Ersery, and he snatched the LT1 job from Robinson.
The former Viking is evidently on the trade block, too.
ESPN’s DJ Bien-Aime noted last week: “Trent Brown may not be the only offseason acquisition who fails to make the Texans’ Week 1 roster as left tackle Cam Robinson is the subject of trade talks.”
“Like Brown, Robinson signed with Houston on a one-year deal worth up to $14.5M this season. The signing came a week after the Texans traded Pro Bowl tackle Laremy Tunsil to the Washington Commanders last March. Robinson was projected to be a starter in Houston after he spent the first 7½ years of his career with the Jacksonville Jaguars before the Minnesota Vikings acquired him last season in Week 9.”
If traded, that would mark two seasons in a row for Robinson.
Bien-Aime continued, “But during camp, he suffered a minor knee injury that held him out for a couple of weeks. During Robinson’s absence, the Texans’ 2025 second-round pick Aireontae Ersery shined at left tackle after spending the early portions of camp playing left and right tackle. So with Robinson in trade talks, the rookie out of Minnesota is primed to start at left tackle.”
Robinson could, therefore, be traded in the next eight weeks.
The Verdict: Nopedy nope on Robinson winning a starter’s job in Houston, the projected outcome when he signed six months ago.
The Nopedy Nope: The Vikings have a normal playing experience at Soldier Field.
About 250,000 people attended a string of concerts at Soldier Field last weekend, and the ground crew is evidently working diligently to make the field sufficient for Monday Night Football.
SI.com’s Joe Nelson wrote this week, “Crews will spend this week transforming Soldier Field by laying sod ahead of the Sept. 8 Bears-Vikings opener. How will field conditions be come Monday night?”
“Last year, before the Bears’ preseason opener against the Bengals, which came the week after Soldier Field hosted back-to-back Metallica concerts, the field conditions weren’t great.”
Kevin O’Connell said on KFAN about the issue this week: “This is professional football, so our anticipation is the surface is going to be good enough to play on. But I would say this, at some point, the guys in purple and white aren’t going to be the only ones playing on the surface so we’ve gotta do our best to establish, through a lot of different people, once we’ve arrived, once we’ve had a chance to step foot, gotta have our players prepared to play on whatever the surface is.”
“We’ve seen at another location here in the NFC North that happens to have grass and a unique climate, we’ve seen that surface play a major role before. We want to make sure that we’re doing our part to prepare our players. It’s something I will talk about with the guys. We’ll have the equipment available, and we’ll go play football.”
There’s always some damn that’s goofy at Soldier Field.
The Verdict: Nopedy nope on Soldier Field being a normal venue.
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