Vikings’ TJ Hockenson gets massive injury update ahead of Week 8

The Minnesota Vikings have managed to do well on the field even with one of their best offensive weapons unable to play a game so far in the 2024 NFL season. But there is a possibility that tight end TJ Hockenson could be back in action as soon as this coming Thursday’s game in Inglewood against the Los Angeles Rams.

Hockenson has already practiced with the Vikings, who have been careful with their approach in the two-time Pro Bowler’s recovery from the ACL and MCL injuries he suffered in a late-season game versus the Detroit Lions in 2023.

The 21-day practice window for Hockenson is about to lapse, which means the Vikings need to make a call on the tight end’s availability status soon. Minnesota has to activate Hockenson before Week 8, otherwise, he will have to be ruled out for the remainder of the 2024 season.

Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell hinted on Monday about the likelihood of Hockenson’s chances of making his 2024 debut in the Rams game.

“It’s early. We’ll make that determination kind of as these next couple of days [go by],” O’Connell said (h/t Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk). “As we put together game plans, we want to have a good feel for that. But, very much a possibility.”

Despite his 2023 season being ended prematurely by the aforementioned injuries, Hockenson managed to post a career-high 960 receiving yards to go with five touchdowns on 95 receptions and 127 targets through 15 games played. That was when the Vikings still had Kirk Cousins under center.

This time around, the Vikings have Sam Darnold starting at the quarterback position, and he’s been among the top surprises of the season thus far. With Darnold as Minnesota’s QB1, the NFC North team has averaged 28.0 points and 3.2 touchdowns per game — both sixth-best in the NFL through seven weeks of football.

TJ Hockenson could potentially see action in Week 8’s Vikings-Rams game