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Kevin Seifert, ESPN Staff Writer
LOS ANGELES — The Minnesota Vikings have decided to hold tight end T.J. Hockenson out of Thursday night’s game at the Los Angeles Rams, the team said.
But the Vikings plan to activate him Friday to their 53-man roster and have him available for their Week 9 game against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday Night Football.
Hockenson hasn’t played since tearing the ACL and MCL in his right knee in a Dec. 24 game against the Detroit Lions. He spent training camp and the entire regular season to this point on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list.
The Vikings opened his 21-day window to resume practicing on Oct. 4, a date timed to give them flexibility this week if they decided he was not yet ready to play. The window expires Friday, at which point the Vikings must activate him or lose him for the season.
Speaking to reporters last week, Hockenson said he would be ready to play whenever the team activated him.
“It’s healed,” Hockenson said of the knee. “It’s stronger than ever, from tests when I was healthy last year to tests now. It’s strong. Stronger than it’s probably ever been. So now it’s just going out there and playing ball. I’ve passed every test by miles from where my ground base was. I’m bigger, stronger, faster than ever and now it’s being ready to go out there and play ball.”
Hockenson has been a fixture of the Vikings’ offense since they acquired him from the Lions at the 2022 trade deadline. From that point, in 25 career games with the team up until his injury, Hockenson caught more passes (155) than any tight end in the NFL, for the second-most yards (1,479).
In his absence, the Vikings have relied primarily on backups Johnny Mundt and Josh Oliver, each of whom have recorded a touchdown reception this season. But coach Kevin O’Connell realigned the offense in Hockenson’s absence, and through seven weeks, the Vikings have averaged four targets per game to tight ends — the second fewest in the NFL.
Entering Thursday night’s game, Mundt and Oliver have combined for 18 receptions for 125 yards this season.