Soon, a Viking May Need to be Cut
Working with a 53-man roster means that every addition leads to a subtraction. It’s part of the cruel nature of the NFL.
Before the bye, the Minnesota Vikings announced that they were opening T.J. Hockenson’s practice window. Doing so officially began the process of welcoming back the TE1, one of the team’s most dangerous weapons. Undoubtedly, Hockenson will be a boost for the team’s chances, but he’ll also demand a roster spot.
Welcoming Hockenson Back May Necessitate a Vikings Cut
Truth be told, I don’t want to venture too far down the speculation path.
The obvious answer for who was going to be cut would have been Robert Tonyan, but he has already been stashed on the practice squad in exchange for running back Myles Gaskin (per Kevin O’Connell). Neither of Josh Oliver nor Johnny Mundt are going anywhere. Instead, they’ll each be bumped down a spot, shifting from TE1 & TE2 down to TE2 & TE3.
So, looking toward the tight end room for an easy-to-understand one-for-one swap doesn’t offer a ton of clarity.
Minnesota must therefore decide how it’s going to accommodate getting their tight end back. Again, it’s good news that Hockenson is getting healthy, but the NFL is a workplace that doesn’t allow for infinite roster spots.
The possibility exists that an injury — either a current one or one that occurs in the future — leads to an IR placement, opening a roster spot in the process. So, for instance, Minnesota could shift Akayleb Evans or Aaron Jones to the injured reserve if either of their hip injuries prove to be relatively serious, carving out a short-term solution to the roster crunch in the process.
Signed to a four-year, $66 million extension last year, T.J. Hockenson should function as one of Sam Darnold’s favorite targets. The talented tight end has the capacity to be both a safe option as well as an explosive option since he has great size (6’5″, 248) while also moving really well.
Prior to getting hurt in 2023, Hockenson was playing some excellent football. He was up to 95 receptions for 960 yards and 5 touchdowns. If there’s one minor quibble with his production, it’s that his yards-per-catch average was down at 10.1, a relatively modest number (especially when compared to some of his usage in Detroit). But, to be sure, that could easily be explained by how Minnesota chooses to deploy the veteran rather than there being a deficiency in his game.
In theory, Minnesota could re-welcome the playmaker in Week 7 but they aren’t compelled to do so. The Vikings can still decide to burn through more days within that practice window before making a final call on when Hockenson comes back.
The tight end is 27 and the reports about his recovery have been positive for several months.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
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K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter, as a co-host for Notes from the North, and as the proprietor at The Vikings Gazette, a humble Vikings Substack.
