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Vikings TE T.J. Hockenson To Resume Practicing

October 3rd, 2024 at 9:51am CST by Adam La Rose

Shortly before the Vikings’ upcoming London game, the team will designate T.J. Hockenson for return. The Pro Bowl tight end will practice for the first time this season tomorrow, head coach Kevin O’Connell said.

Hockenson has been rehabbing the ACL and MCL tears which ended his 2023 campaign. That injury brought an abrupt end to his first full season in Minnesota, one in which he delivered career highs in receptions (95) and yards (960). Week 5 marks the first point at which he can return to practice, although an activation from the PUP list after only one session should of course not be expected.

Minnesota’s decision to open Hockenson’s return window is nevertheless a sign of his progress in rehabbing his knee. The former first-rounder will not be in the picture for Sunday’s game, and the Vikings will have their bye week following the London contest. Week 7 had been floated as a realistic return date for Hockenson, although that may no longer be the case. The Vikings’ next game after that Lions contest will be against the Rams on a Thursday, something which was taken into account regarding the timing of this decision.

“Friday gives us 21 days, and 21 days from then gives us the bye weekend, two football games with us playing on Thursday, the second week after the bye,” O’Connell said (via the team’s website). “So that gives us some flexibility at 20 days to have him either ready to go, see where he’s at and his availability for the Lions game, and then, like I said, we have the flexibility for the following [week].”

Whenever Hockenson is back on the roster, his return will be welcomed on an offense which has fared surprisingly well with Sam Darnold at quarterback. Minnesota ranks fourth in the NFL in scoring and ninth in total offense; being at full strength at the skill positions could help sustain that early success. Hockenson is attached to the four-year, $66MM extension he signed last summer which made him one of the highest-paid tight ends in the league. The Iowa product’s long-term health will thus remain a key priority for the team, but he is in line to return soon.

In another injury update, O’Connell noted guard Dalton Risner will likely not have his practice window opened this week. The 29-year-old was placed on injured reserve (but designated for return) before the roster cutdown deadline, using one of Minnesota’s eight IR activations in the process. Risner was forced to miss the first four weeks of the season as a result, but it appears he will also be sidelined for at least one more until he returns to practice.

Latest On Vikings TE T.J. Hockenson

September 29th, 2024 at 3:14pm CST by Adam La Rose

Like a number of other high-profile players, T.J. Hockenson is eligible to be activated from the PUP list in the coming days. The Vikings tight end does not have a firm return target, but he continues to make progress in his recovery.

Week 5 is the earliest Hockenson could see the field by rule, but Week 7 was reported earlier this month to be a more realistic point for him to be activated. That contest would double as an important matchup for the two-time Pro Bowler since it is against the Lions. A game against his former team would be signficant, but ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports the Detroit matchup may now be seen as an “ambitious” return date.

Schefter does add, however, that Hockenson has impressed the Vikings with his rehab progress from the ACL and MCL tears which ended his 2023 campaign. The season – his first full one in Minnesota – produced career highs in catches (95) and yards (960) along with five touchdowns. Hockenson’s absence was acutely felt on offense to close out the year, although the Vikings have surged out of the gate in 2024. Having the former first-rounder back in the fold will nevertheless give the team a notable boost.

Minnesota has a strong receiver tandem with Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison, but the team’s tight end depth has been tested with Hockenson out of the picture. Josh Oliver logged a 50% snap share through the first three games of the season, but he registered only two catches during that span. Johnny Mundt and Nick Muse are also in place, but of course none of those options offer the upside of Hockenson.

The Iowa product is on the books through 2027 as a result of $16.5MM-per-year extension he inked last offseason. Hockenson’s long-term health is a key priority given Minnesota’s financial commitment to him, and a cautious approach would come as no surprise. Further updates on his recovery and the team’s practice plan will be worth watching closely as a return to action draws closer.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/28/24

September 28th, 2024 at 7:27pm CST by Ely Allen

Minor transactions and practice squad callups for the Week 4 weekend:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

  • Elevated: G Kyle Hergel

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Commanders

NFC Injury Updates: Lewis, Murphy, Darnold

September 25th, 2024 at 9:59pm CST by Ely Allen

After the high of getting their first win this past weekend, it’s a tough swing back down as the Panthers will see starting left guard Damien Lewis miss at least one game with an elbow injury, per Jordan Schultz of Bleacher Report. Schultz tells us that, while Lewis will likely avoid a stint on injured reserve, he will have to miss some time.

While the quarterback play has suffered up until this past week, Carolina has seen some pretty solid offensive line play so far this season. In fact, Lewis, who grades out as the 25th-best guard in the NFL, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required), has, so far, graded out as the team’s fifth-best player on offense. Lewis is the only one who’s missed time on an otherwise stalwart line, with Chandler Zavala filling in during Lewis’s short absence.

A tear in Lewis’s elbow will likely require Zavala’s presence once again. While he will definitely miss one game, Lewis plans to eventually play through the injury. The team will miss his play, but the hope is that he won’t be gone for long.

Here are a couple other injury updates from around the NFL:

  • The Seahawks have enjoyed the benefits of a talented defensive line this season, one that has been boosted by the contributions of rookie first-round defensive tackle Byron Murphy. The second defensive player taken off the board last April, Murphy is expected to miss some time with a hamstring injury, per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN. Seattle doesn’t intend to put him on IR for now, but they’ll be decidedly careful not to rush the rookie back.
  • Late in the team’s win over the Texans this past weekend, the Vikings experienced a scare when starting quarterback Sam Darnold took a low hit from former Minnesota-favorite Danielle Hunter. Darnold limped to the sideline, where he sat out one play before running back onto the field. Tests on Monday revealed a bruise but no structural damage to Darnold’s left knee, according to ESPN’s Kevin Seifert. The team will experience a collective sigh of relief to realize that their quarterback avoided serious injury just weeks after that of rookie first-round quarterback J.J. McCarthy.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/21/24

September 21st, 2024 at 5:00pm CST by Ely Allen

Today’s minor NFL transactions:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Players like Hollman, Vigil, Webb, and Quarterman will now be getting called up for the third time this season. The NFL rules limit a practice squad player to three standard gameday elevations per contract. If their teams want to get them into more games in the future, the normal route is for them to be signed to the active roster after this weekend then released/waived and signed to new practice squad deals, starting their three-game count over.

Shy Tuttle‘s foot injury will keep him off the field for Week 3, as the Panthers announced that the defensive tackle has been downgraded from doubtful to out. The Panthers called up Williams to temporarily take the open roster spot. The defensive end started 10 of his 16 appearances for the Panthers last season, and he landed back on Carolina’s practice squad last month after spending the preseason with the Bills.

The Browns announced a handful of moves ahead of their game with the Giants tomorrow. Notably, the team didn’t promote any offensive tackles, which provided some optimism surrounding the availability of their injured tackles. While Jedrick Wills Jr. is expected to play (per Chris Easterling of the Akron Beacon Journal), Jack Conklin will not (per Tony Grossi of 850 ESPN Cleveland). Conklin hasn’t played since Week 1 of the 2023 season while recovering from a torn ACL and MCL. He practiced this week and was initially listed as questionable for tomorrow’s game, but it sounds like a new hamstring injury is the culprit for his Week 3 absence.

With both Joe Mixon and Dameon Pierce set to miss Sunday’s trip to Minnesota, the Texans are bringing up Taylor off the practice squad. Taylor will back up Cam Akers and Dare Ogunbowale against the Vikings this weekend.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/18/24

September 18th, 2024 at 6:50pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Wednesday’s minor moves:

Denver Broncos

  • Signed from practice squad: OLB Dondrea Tillman

Los Angeles Rams

  • Signed from practice squad: OL Justin Dedich

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

A five-year Giants contributor, Ximenes logged 14 defensive snaps through two Patriots games. A rookie UDFA out of James Madison, Kromah has not played in a regular-season game yet. Because the Pats poached Kromah from the Bears’ P-squad, he must remain on New England’s 53-man roster for three weeks.

Additionally, free agent defensive back Alex Brown received a three-week suspension, per KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson. Brown has not been on an NFL roster since 2021 and has not played in a game since 2019.

Vikings Audition LB Kwon Alexander

September 18th, 2024 at 10:19am CST by Sam Robinson

Injuries have become a consistent problem for Kwon Alexander, who has done well to find opportunities despite a host of setbacks. The veteran linebacker is attempting another comeback, this time from an Achilles tear that ended his season with the Steelers.

The Falcons brought in Alexander for a recent workout, and NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero indicates the Vikings did the same. Alexander has now been with five NFL teams, most recently the Steelers in 2023, during a nine-year career. He landed gigs in late July — with the Jets and Steelers — over the past two years, but thanks to the Achilles injury suffered in November, that timetable understandably changed in 2024.

Alexander, 30, played in nine Pittsburgh games last season while making two starts before going down in a Packers matchup November 12. Alexander has continually made it back from injury issues. This dates back to a 2018 ACL tear while with the Buccaneers. Alexander then sustained a torn pec during his first season on a lucrative 49ers contract. Last year’s Achilles tear also was not Alexander’s first as a pro, with the veteran defender going down with the same injury late in the 2020 season while with the Saints.

Considering Alexander’s age and injury past, it is impressive he has continued to resurface. Last season, the former Bucs standout made 41 tackles (five for loss) and intercepted a pass for a Steelers team that encountered health issues at linebacker. Alexander started 12 games for Robert Saleh‘s top-five defense in 2022, and while he played 17 games, the former fourth-round pick was a part-time player (49% usage rate) alongside standouts C.J. Mosley and Quincy Williams.

For his career, Alexander has made 88 starts. The Vikings did work on their defensive second level this offseason, adding Minneapolis-area native Blake Cashman in free agency and hybrid player Andrew Van Ginkel. The team won bidding wars for both. Minnesota has also seen Ivan Pace go from 2023 UDFA to starter at the position. Kamu Grugier-Hill and 2022 third-rounder Brian Asamoah are in place behind Cashman and Pace, though neither has played a defensive snap thus far this season.

If healthy, Alexander would provide second-level depth to a team. But he is certainly running out of chances due to the growing list of setbacks sustained during a lengthy career.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/17/24

September 17th, 2024 at 7:42pm CST by Ely Allen

Tuesday’s practice squad transactions:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Houston Texans

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

  • Signed: T Marcellus Johnson
  • Released: T Ricky Lee

New England Patriots

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

Washington Commanders

Woods joins the Falcons’ practice squad after a workout last week that also included veterans Kwon Alexander and Rashaan Evans.

The Browns are adding Freeman after the seven-year veteran was released by the Cowboys before the regular season. Freeman could potentially pitch in as the team keeps working without Nick Chubb.

Yeast becomes the next former-Rams defensive back to join the Panthers. Current Carolina defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero used to serve as the secondary coach in Los Angeles, and Yeast joins Jordan Fuller, Nick Scott, and Troy Hill as former students of Evero to sign a deal with the Panthers.

Chosen’s time off the Dolphins’ practice squad could be a short one. Chosen was called up as a standard gameday elevation twice in the first two weeks of the season, reaching his limit for the year. If the team re-signs him to a new practice squad contract, his count should start over.

Reagor saw 11 games and a start last year for New England, catching seven passes for 138 yards as a deep threat. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like the Patriots will be giving him similar opportunities this year after this release.

Pierre played a big part in the Steelers’ secondary in 2021 and 2022, starting six games and logging an interception in each season. His role was extremely reduced last year with the arrivals of Joey Porter Jr.. and Patrick Peterson, but his experience could be crucial in a position room that only rosters five cornerbacks as Cameron Sutton remains on suspension.

49ers Attempted Trade For Justin Jefferson Before Draft

September 15th, 2024 at 6:20pm CST by Ely Allen

This offseason saw the Vikings sign their young, star wide receiver Justin Jefferson to the biggest contract for a pass catcher in NFL history, The four-year, $140MM deal matched Davante Adams in total value, but with Adams contract for five years, that leaves Jefferson alone at the top in average annual value with $35MM per year. Before the team ensure Jefferson was sticking around for years to come, though, multiple teams reached out with interest in trading for the offensive phenom.

According to a recent report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the 49ers checked if Minnesota was open at all to a trade that would land them the NFL’s top wideout. This attempt at a trade happened amidst San Francisco’s contract struggles with their own wide receiver, Brandon Aiyuk. The Aiyuk-situation devolved to a point at which the 49ers wide receiver even requested a trade himself.

The deal was a no-go for the Vikings from the start. The 49ers weren’t the only ones to try, though. Per Schefter, the Jets and Colts made inquiries, as well, into obtaining the star receiver. Minnesota shut down any interest and delivered on their own plans of extending Jefferson to his record-breaking deal. San Francisco, for their part, ended up inking Aiyuk after their failed trade attempt, signing him to a four-year, $120.01MM contract.

This report is a timely one as the two teams faced off today. Jefferson’s 133-yard performance including a 97-yard touchdown was a key factor in Minnesota’s victory over the favored 49ers. Aiyuk’s season, after his long holdout, is off to a slow start. So far this year, Aiyuk has six catches for 71 yards in two contests.

Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy Discusses Knee Injury; Latest On Team’s Development Plan

September 15th, 2024 at 11:48am CST by Rory Parks

The Vikings’ hopes to see quarterback J.J. McCarthy under center at some point this season have been dashed, as the No. 10 overall pick of this year’s draft sustained a torn meniscus that required a full repair and that will force him to miss the entirety of his rookie campaign. Nonetheless, the club obviously is still doing everything it can to ensure that McCarthy has a long and productive career in Minnesota.

As Dianna Russini of The Athletic (subscription required) reports, the Vikings have implemented “a comprehensive player development plan” to aid in McCarthy’s growth from a mental standpoint. That includes at least an hour of one-on-one time with head coach Kevin O’Connell each week and regular work with assistant quarterbacks coach Grant Udinski.

Of course, McCarthy will remain a constant presence in the quarterbacks room and will receive the weekly game plan. The team will also use virtual reality programs to help him learn how to see the field and process game situations, and per ESPN’s Kevin Seifert, the Vikings will give McCarthy access to a camera they have attached to the top of starting QB Sam Darnold’s helmet during practice. Once McCarthy is medically cleared – we previously heard that could happen this season, although the Vikings are likely to keep him on the sidelines regardless – he will be “entrenched in the process of a starting quarterback.”

As Ben Goessling of the Minnesota Star Tribune writes, McCarthy suffered both a medial and radial tear in his meniscus, although he did not realize he was injured until after he appeared in the Vikes’ preseason opener on August 10. McCarthy told reporters, including Goessling and Seifert, that his knee buckled while walking down the stairs at his home the day after the game, and by the following day, the pain was such that he realized he needed to alert the team.

“I just wanted to play it safe and play the long game and understand I could be a tough guy and tough it out and try to grit out that first start that I was going to get [the following week],” McCarthy said. “But at the end of the day, what’s best for this organization and this team is me making smart decisions, especially early on in my career. And that was one of them, to just figure this out before a landmine goes off in my knee.”

McCarthy candidly added that the severity of his injury was a “kick in the balls,” though he believes the mental reps and the other work the team has planned for him will be a boon to his development. 

The Michigan product said that work will “solidify what it’s like to go through the week and with the benefit of not having pressure to perform on Sunday. So, by the time I do play, whenever that is, next year, following year, whenever it is, I’ll be ready, and it won’t be like this is my first game.”

In the meantime, Darnold will have a full season to establish himself as a quality starter parlay his one-year, $10MM deal with Minnesota into a bigger payday elsewhere. He had a successful Vikings debut in Week 1, completing 19 of 24 passes for 208 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception en route to a 28-6 win over the Giants.

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