The Minnesota Vikings’ offense has been a work in progress all season. What started with Kyler Murray winning the starting job during training camp turned into a rash of injuries through the first five weeks. But despite growing pains, the Vikings showed signs of turning it around in their final two games before the bye, and the big winner could be T.J. Hockenson.
Hockenson is in the final year of his contract and could be looking to get another payday next spring. While it’s a question whether it will happen in Minnesota, Hockenson was making his best case, catching 13 passes for 119 yards, and would have had a touchdown in the final minutes of a Week 4 win over the Miami Dolphins if the coaches hadn't told him to go down in an effort to kill the clock.
An early reception was also a promising sign before Hockenson suffered a concussion in the Week 5 win over the New Orleans Saints. But his usage, along with Kyler Murray’s history, could be the perfect combination that helps him extend his time in Minnesota.
T.J. Hockenson could benefit greatly from Kyler Murray’s tendencies
Hockenson came to Minnesota as one of the biggest moves of the Kevin O’Connell era in 2022. Acquired from the Detroit Lions in exchange for a 2023 second-round pick and a 2024 third-round pick, Hockenson was an immediate upgrade over Irv Smith Jr., catching 60 passes for 519 yards and three touchdowns in the final 10 games of the 2022 season and 95 passes for 960 yards and five touchdowns during the 2023 campaign.
That performance convinced the Vikings to sign Hockenson to a four-year, $66 million contract, making him, at the time, the NFL's highest-paid tight end. But his career took a sharp detour when he suffered a multiligament knee injury after a hit from Lions safety Kerby Joseph during a game on Christmas Eve 2023.
Hockenson missed the first half of the 2024 season recovering from the injury and hasn’t looked like the same player, totaling 92 catches for 893 yards and three touchdowns in 25 games over the last two seasons. That decline convinced the Vikings to rework Hockenson’s contract, making him a free agent at the end of this year.
Hockenson started quietly, catching nine passes for 76 yards and a touchdown over the first three weeks. But the Dolphins game was encouraging as the Vikings leaned into Murray’s strengths, including peppering tight ends with targets.
The evidence can be seen during Murray’s final years in Arizona. Armed with an elite tight end in Trey McBride, Murray chucked 111 targets his way en route to his first Pro Bowl season in 2024. Before he suffered a foot injury that ended his 2025 season, McBride was targeted 42 times through the first five games, which tied Jake Ferguson for the most targets among tight ends and tied for ninth in the NFL.
It’s also notable that McBride had 147 targets from the start of the 2024 season until Kyler Murray’s injury, which ranked second among tight ends behind Brock Bowers of the Las Vegas Raiders (153) and eighth among all pass catchers. McBride also ranked fourth in receptions (111) and 11th in receiving yards (1,146) during that timeframe, which should mean great things for Hockenson moving forward.
Hockenson could play his way into a bigger Minnesota Vikings payday
Hockenson didn’t finish the Week 5 game in New Orleans, but he can find encouragement in what happened for the rest of that game, as Gavin Bartholomew’s six targets ranked only behind Justin Jefferson’s seven targets. While most were checkdowns, they can add up over a season and could have Hockenson flirting with big numbers by the end of the year.
Spotrac currently estimates Hockenson could get $10.2 million per season in his next deal, not far off from the $10.25 million pact he signed last offseason. But if he keeps putting up big numbers, that number will only go up and make a complicated decision for the Vikings.
Hockenson turns 30 next July, and if he has a big finish to the year, an extension should be on the table. Hockenson also said he would like to stay in Minnesota beyond this year, but he admitted his focus is on the current season when talking to reporters during training camp.
“That’s not really my focus right now,” Hockenson said. “I mean, my focus is just this year, and you know, we’ll figure that out when it happens. But…I’ve always said that there’s been no secrets on how much I love this place and how much I enjoy being there.”
Even if Hockenson loves it in Minnesota, he’d love it more if Murray kept throwing the ball his way. If that happens, Hockenson’s value would only go up, and it could lead to the payday he had been looking for when he renegotiated his contract last spring.
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