Minnesota Vikings tight end TJ Hockenson will begin the 2024 NFL season on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list, which will keep him out of the team’s first four games.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the 27-year-old Hockenson is still recovering from a torn ACL he suffered in Week 16 of last season. The Vikings still expect him to return at some point this season.
Hockenson will miss the Vikings’ games against the New York Giants, San Francisco 49ers, Houston Texans and Green Bay Packers. The earliest he will be eligible to return is their Week 5 game against the New York Jets on Oct. 6.
Hockenson went down in the third quarter of their Dec. 24 loss to the Detroit Lions. He caught a pass in the middle of the field but was immediately tackled on his right knee. He got up immediately but clutched his knee in pain before leaving the field.
He did not return and the Vikings ruled him out shortly thereafter. Hockenson finished with 58 yards on four catches in the loss.
The former Iowa star was in the midst of his best season in the NFL. Hockenson, who was drafted by the Lions before being traded to Minnesota midway through the 2022 season, had career highs in receiving yards (960) and catches (95), plus five touchdowns in 2023. He was a fixture in the Vikings’ offense as the team rotated several quarterbacks following starter Kirk Cousins’ season-ending Achilles injury.
Hockenson underwent ACL surgery in late January, a month after sustaining the injury. He waited to have the procedure done to allow the MCL tear that occurred during the same play to heal.
