Vikings Rumors Buzz around a Lewis Cine Sighting, T.J. Hockenson’s Role, Germaine Pratt
Lewis Cine has popped up, T.J. Hockenson’s job description has been clarified, and Germaine Pratt might’ve made sense for the Minnesota Vikings.
The Vikings rumor mill never takes days off, and this is the Sunday edition, focusing on a Lewis Cine tryout, T.J. Hockenson, and Germaine Pratt.
That’s the ultra-brief skinny on the Vikings’ rumor mill this week.
Here’s the long version.
Vikings Rumors for Sunday, October 12th, 2025
The purple rumor mill is in the house for the bye week.
Rumor: Lewis Cine could be back in the NFL after working out with the Indianapolis Colts this week.
ColtsWire’s Paul Bretl wrote on Monday, “The Indianapolis Colts worked out a few defensive backs on Monday, including a former first-round draft pick. According to Aaron Wilson, the Colts had in safety Lewis Cine for a workout. Cine was a first-round draft pick out of Georgia by the Minnesota Vikings in 2022.”
If signed — no contract had come to fruition at the time of this article’s publication — Cine would join a laundry list of former Vikings players in Indianapolis.
- Daniel Jones | QB
- Camryn Bynum | S
- Mekhi Blackmon | CB
- Laquon Treadwell | WR, Practice Squad
- Ameer Abdullah | RB, Practice Squad
- Marcellus Johnson | OT, Practice Squad
- Keenan Garber | CB, Practice Squad
Cine headlined a now-infamous 2022 draft class for Minnesota. He also won a Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles, even getting a ring, though he never physically played.
Rumor: T.J. Hockenson’s reduced pass-catching role in Minnesota is by design.
Wondering why Hockenson hasn’t posted his typical Top 5 TE receiving numbers in 2025? There’s an explanation.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell served up an explanation — without being asked about it — this week.
“We’re asking a lot of him right now that doesn’t necessarily coincide with him being one of the best route-running tight ends in the NFL,” O’Connell said to reporters this week.
“There’s some sacrifice going on, all across our football team, to do whatever is required to win one game. And that mentality can be a powerful thing as we inevitably start to get some guys back.”
Through the first stretch of 2025, Hockenson has tallied 153 receiving yards — 19th among all NFL tight ends — along with 19 catches and a single touchdown. If that pace held for the rest of the season (which it probably won’t), he’d finish somewhere around 64 receptions, 520 yards, and 3 scores. That’s a modest line for a player cashing $16.5 million checks per year.
At that price point, Minnesota expects difference-making production, not middle-of-the-pack efficiency. A tight end pulling down that kind of paycheck needs to flirt with or surpass the 1,000-yard threshold to justify the investment. Otherwise, someone like Josh Oliver could deliver similar results for a fraction of the cost.
Rumor: Minnesota would have made sense as a landing spot for linebacker Germaine Pratt.
Out of the blue, the Las Vegas Raiders dropped Pratt this week, a starting off-ball linebacker.
NFL.com’s Nick Shook announced Monday, “After four straight losses, the afterglow of the Raiders’ season-opening win is long gone. So too is a veteran member of their defense. Las Vegas released linebacker Germaine Pratt on Monday, a move head coach Pete Carroll explained simply.”
“Pratt joined the Raiders as a free agent in June, hopping on board with the Silver and Black after just one day of unemployment following his release from the Bengals. The swiftness with which the Raiders signed Pratt suggested they were excited to add a player with over 100 games of NFL experience, but four months later, the enthusiasm evaporated.”
With so many injuries dinging the Vikings through five weeks, plus some unforeseen struggles from Ivan Pace Jr., Pratt seemed to make sense for a free-agent contract in Minnesota. The man would have been affordable, too, as the Raiders have already paid his salary.
But the Indianapolis Colts squashed this rumor, onboarding a couple of days after his release.
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