T.J. Hockenson Injury Updates | Shark Bites

Vikings TE T.J. Hockenson underwent surgery on January 29 to repair his torn ACL, the team announced. Doctors waited for 36 days after the injury to do surgery in order to let Hockenson's MCL heal. It's standard practice but obviously pushes back Hockenson's timeline for return. Consider him iffy to be ready for the start of the 2024 season, which kicks off in about 7.5 months.

On Tuesday, ESPN's Adam Schefter confirmed that Vikings TE T.J. Hockenson tore his right ACL and MCL in Sunday's loss vs. the Lions. That ends Hockenson's phenomenal season. The veteran pass-catcher posted a position-leading 127 targets and 219 PPR points (a career-best) through Week 16. We'll see about his chances of making it back for the start of 2024. But his long-term dynasty value should still largely remain intact. Be sure to keep up with us throughout the offseason as more information becomes available. Hockenson's injury likely means more playing time for TEs Josh Oliver and Johnny Mundt. They saw near-identical playing time against the Lions, with Mundt getting the edge in snaps (23-21) and targets (3-2). The presence of both makes neither especially attractive for fantasy purposes. WR K.J. Osborn probably gains the most fantasy relevance.

Vikings TE T.J. Hockenson injured his right knee in the third quarter of Sunday's game vs. the Lions and was ruled out just a short time later. We'll look for further updates on the severity of the injury and Hockenson's timetable for return.

Vikings WR Justin Jefferson appears unlikely to play Sunday against the Broncos. ESPN's Kevin Seifert reports that Jefferson is "continuing to ramp up" in his return from a hamstring injury "but would need to make a lot of quick progress to play Sunday night." That doesn't mean he's out for the week just yet. But you'll need to plan as though you won't have Jefferson in your fantasy lineup. We'll be watching throughout the rest of the week for more updates on the star WR. For now, we've knocked him out of our Week 11 WR rankings and adjusted the projections for teammates such as QB Joshua Dobbs (down) and TE T.J. Hockenson (up).

Vikings TE T.J. Hockenson (ribs) was limited in practice all week and is listed as questionable for Sunday's game vs. the Saints. He was able to play through this injury last week and should be fine for this weekend's contest. We'll get Minnesota's inactives around 11:30 am ET on Sunday.

Vikings QB Kirk Cousins is feared to have torn his Achilles in Sunday's win over the Packers, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. It's typically easy for doctors to diagnose a torn Achilles without any imaging. We should get confirmation tomorrow, but Cousins' 2023 season is very likely over. His absence would leave Minnesota with QBs Jaren Hall and Sean Mannion. QB Nick Mullens is currently on IR with a back injury but is eligible to return. Regardless, Cousins' injury is horrible news for Minnesota's skill-position players.

Vikings TE T.J. Hockenson (foot) is not listed on the final Week 8 injury report. He was limited in practice this week but will be out there for Sunday’s game vs. the Packers.

Vikings TE T.J. Hockenson (foot) returned to a limited practice on Thursday. He should be on track to play vs. the Packers this weekend, but we'll see how Hockenson is listed on the final injury report tomorrow.

The Vikings will be placing WR Justin Jefferson on IR for the hamstring injury that knocked him out of Sunday's loss to the Chiefs. That means he'll miss at least the next four games. Jefferson's absence will obviously leave a bunch of targets for his Vikings teammates. Jefferson drew 47 through the first four games, 30% of QB Kirk Cousins' total attempts over that span. That makes rookie WR Jordan Addison a weekly starting candidate over the next month. He drew a season-high 9 targets in the K.C. game, reaching 6 receptions for the second time in three weeks. It also makes WR K.J. Osborn worth picking up in many leagues. But there's also a chance Jefferson's absence shifts the offensive approach. Minnesota leads the league in pass attempts through five weeks, sits tied for the lead in pass rate, and ranks third in pass rate over expected. Losing Jefferson figures to hurt the offense overall and could push a little more work to the running game. We're certainly not upgrading RB Alexander Mattison for this, but we'll be watching the offense's reaction over the next couple of weeks. Cousins clearly loses upside with the absence of arguably the league's best WR. Fortunately for him -- and fantasy managers -- the Vikings visit a bad Bears defense in the first game without Jefferson. That will help everyone's fantasy outlooks. An ominous Monday night date with the 49ers waits on the other side of that, however.

Vikings TE Irv Smith (ankle) has been designated to return from IR. He's been out since going down with a significant high-ankle sprain in Week 8. Minnesota, of course, swung a deal for TE T.J. Hockenson since then. Smith's return could be a slight boost to the Vikings passing game, but he won't be a fantasy factor in the regular season or playoffs, barring a Hockenson injury.

Vikings WR K.J. Osborn tied WR Justin Jefferson for the team target lead (16) in Saturday's come-from-behind OT win over the Colts. Osborn caught 10 balls for a team-high 157 yards and scored. Jefferson returned from an injury check (chest) to catch 12 passes for 123 yards and a TD. WR Adam Thielen managed just 3 receptions on 4 targets for 41 yards and a TD. TE T.J. Hockenson added 3-33 receiving on 9 looks.

Lions TE T.J. Hockenson (knee) is not listed on the final Week 8 injury report. He was a full-go in Friday’s practice and should be ready for his usual role on Sunday vs. Miami.

Lions TE T.J. Hockenson (knee) returned to a limited practice on Thursday. He should be fine for this weekend's plus matchup vs. the Dolphins, but we'll see how Hockenson is listed on tomorrow's final injury report.

Lions WR T.J. Hockenson (hip) isn’t listed on the final Week 5 injury report. He went no practice Wednesday, limited Thursday, full Friday – the same routine he followed last week before exploding for 179 yards and 2 TDs.

Lions TE T.J. Hockenson (foot) is not listed on the final Week 4 injury report. After sitting out on Wednesday, he was limited on Thursday and a full-go on Friday. So the foot shouldn’t be a real issue in Sunday’s game vs. the Seahawks. Hockenson should be in for an expanded role with RB D’Andre Swift and WR Amon-Ra St. Brown out.

The Lions have ruled WR Amon-Ra St. Brown (ankle) out for Sunday's game against the Seahawks. And that's not the only injury at play in this pass-catching corps. TE T.J. Hockenson (foot), WR D.J. Chark (ankle) and Josh Reynolds (ankle) are also dealing with injuries that have cost them practice time this week. Khalif Raymond and Quintez Cephus sit behind that group if any others wind up inactive. HC Dan Campbell also said Friday that RB D'Andre Swift is "probably out" for the game. We'll update official statuses for others as they come out.

Lions TE T.J. Hockenson (foot) did not practice on Wednesday. We don't have any details on the injury. Check back tomorrow for another update on Hockenson's Week 4 status.

Lions QB Tim Boyle is expected to start Sunday's game vs. the Browns, ESPN's Adam Schefter reports. QB Jared Goff didn't practice all week with his oblique injury. Boyle has 4 regular-season pass attempts to his name. He went undrafted back in 2018 after completing 55.5% of his passes, averaging 5.6 yards per attempt and tossing 12 TDs vs. 26 INTs across 4 college seasons (3 at UConn, 1 at Eastern Kentucky). There's a good chance this is a total disaster for the Lions offense. Downgrade RB D'Andre Swift and TE T.J. Hockenson.

ESPN's Adam Schefter confirms that Lions TE T.J. Hockenson (knee) is expected to play vs. the Bengals today. Hockenson played through this injury last week, registering his usual 80+% snap rate. He, of course, finished with just 2 catches on 3 targets for 22 yards.