Because Minnesota Vikings tight T.J. Hockenson hit the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) listing late in the summertime, many assumed his necessary four-game absence would allow his return in Week 5 — a showdown in London with Aaron Rodgers’ New York Jets.
Source: T.J. Hockenson’s Return Not Right across the Corner
But sources inform VikingsTerritory {that a} extra life like return for Hockenson is round Week 8 when the Vikings journey to Los Angeles for a gathering with the Rams.
Minnesota is taking the cautious route with Hockenson, permitting his torn ACL to heal totally with out threat of re-injury. And with the franchise sitting properly at 3-0, treading gingerly along with his restoration is sensible. Why rush the person again when the enterprise is buzzing within the meantime?
Without Hockenson, no Hockenson-like tight finish has emerged in his stead. By committee, the Vikings have relied on Josh Oliver and Johnny Mundt for TE duties by way of three video games. So far, the membership is undefeated and sits atop the NFC North by its fantastic lonesome.
Too, new Vikings operating again Aaron Jones has completely taken the stress off the passing sport, as Minnesota ranks twelfth per rushing offense DVOA as of September twenty third, up 15 spots from its twenty seventh rating in 2023. Minnesota’s offense merely isn’t as pass-heavy as 2022 or 2023 iterations, because of Jones’ effectivity, with a aspect dish of Ty Chandler receiving about 35% of RB touches.
Three weeks in the past, Hockenson’s Week 5 return piqued onlookers’ consideration. The Athletic’s Alec Lewis opined on Hockenson’s return earlier this month: “Week 5 is a fair projection. That’s when he is eligible to return from the physically unable to perform list. His presence on the list means he can practice, and he won’t need any runway in terms of learning the system. Don’t be surprised if he suits up in London against the New York Jets.”
Detroit Lions defender Kerby Joseph, a former teammate of Hockenson’s, injured him in December with a unclean hit, ending his 2023 marketing campaign and casting his 2024 return date into jeopardy.
“Hockenson is already sprinting and running routes on side fields. Had the Vikings prioritized the team over the player, they probably could have pushed him to return in these first few weeks,” Lewis added a number of weeks in the past. “But from the outset, that’s not how they’ve viewed this process, even working in tandem with Hockenson’s private trainers in Nashville to establish trust.”
Hockenson was getting ready to turning into the Vikings’ first 1,000+ yard tight finish in 42 years earlier than the ACL tear in 2023. Joe Senser achieved the mark in 1981, and Hockenson fell 40 yards brief. When large receiver Justin Jefferson was injured for seven video games in October and November, Hockenson was typically the glue that saved the offense collectively.
The veteran tight finish personally commented on his restoration in July. “It’s been great, yeah. We’re running now, doing a lot of change-of-direction stuff,” Hockenson said on Bussin with the Boys.
Hockenson stated he felt like a “normal person” once more 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 present’s hosts tried to nail down Hockenson on a tentative return date of Week 5 in London, although the veteran Viking rapidly backed out of any concrete timetable. He merely insisted the restoration was trending properly and in the precise route on the entire.
Overall, the up to date prognosis is post-Week-5 — probably on the Rams on Thursday, October twenty fourth.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his every day YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The present options company, evaluation, and opinion on all issues associated to the purple crew, with 4-7 episodes per week. His Vikings obsession dates again to 1996. Listed responsible pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as intently because the NFL.
All statistics supplied by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual info supplied by OverTheCap.com.
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