Latest T.J. Hockenson injury rumor is not good and it explains the Vikings' most recent roster move

The Minnesota Vikings have one of the league's better arrangements of offensive skill players in Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, T.J. Hockenson, Aaron Jones, and Ty Chandler.

But when it comes to Hockenson's availability in 2024, the Vikings may have to play the waiting game. 

Hockenson initially said in an interview during the 2024 schedule release that his doctors/trainers have not put a timeline on his return and in the most recent edition of The Athletic's Scoop City, it's been speculated that the star tight end could be placed on the physically unable to perform list, which means he'd miss the first four weeks of the season, at minimum. Hockenson tore his ACL and MCL back in Week 16 against the Detroit Lions.

Don’t expect Vikings TE T.J. Hockenson, who tore his ACL and MCL in Week 16, to be ready for Week 1. The injury could land him on the PUP and keep him below 100 percent all year. He recently said there’s no timeline for his return. - The Athletic

The news makes last week's signing of Robert Tonyan, a former Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears tight end, all the more logical. Hockenson's No. 1 replacement is Josh Oliver, whom the coaching staff is very fond of and then there's Johnny Mundt, although he's more of a special teams guy, than anything. Still, like Oliver, the staff loves him. Even so much to where Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell referred to him as the league's best TE3 - so that tells you exactly where he stands.

After them, it's Tonyan, Nick Muse, and then undrafted rookie Trey Knox and International Pathway Program player, Sammis Reyes. If Hockenson can't go until Week 4, then yea, the Vikings are going to need a dependable target backing up Oliver and Mundt, as the aforementioned trio of guys have logged a grand total of 41 offensive snaps over the course of their careers. Tonyan, on the other hand, has appeared in 68 games with 18 starts and has played 2,118 offensive snaps. The best year of his career was in 2020, when he caught 52 passes for 586 yards and 11 touchdowns.

"I think he's really going to help us with TJ being out," Vikings offensive coordinator Wes Phillips told reporters Tuesday. "I think Robert can can kind of fill some of those roles that TJ did for us. There's a lot of production from TJ that we're gonna miss for a little bit. And I think he can pick up a good amount of that slack."