Vikings’ TE T.J. Hockenson to begin season on PUP list, miss at least 4 games as recovery from ACL surgery continues

Minnesota Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson will begin the 2024 NFL season on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list, ruling him out for 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 during Week 16 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 is eligible to return would be 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 up the middle of the field but was tackled directly in his right knee. He stood up right away but was grabbing at his knee in pain before he left the field.

He didn’t return, and the Vikings ruled him out soon after. Hockenson finished with 58 yards on four catches in the loss.

The former Iowa standout was in the middle of his best season in the NFL. Hockenson, who was drafted by the Lions before he was traded to Minnesota in the middle of the 2022 season, had a career-highs in receiving yards (960) and catches (95), plus five touchdowns in 2023. He was a staple in the Vikings’ offense while the team had to rotate through a number of quarterbacks after starter Kirk Cousins’ season-ending Achilles injury.

Hockenson underwent ACL surgery at the end of January, a month after suffering the injury. He waited to undergo the procedure to allow the MCL tear that occurred on the same play to heal.