Following another underwhelming year from T.J. Hockenson, some believe the Minnesota Vikings might attempt to move on from him at some point this offseason, and after Sunday, the San Francisco 49ers might be the perfect landing spot for the veteran tight end.
Midway through their first-round playoff matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, the 49ers lost All-Pro tight end George Kittle to a brutal non-contact leg injury. San Francisco later revealed that Kittle unfortunately sustained a torn right Achilles.
Given the type of recovery time needed for his injury, there's no guarantee that he will be available for San Francisco by the start of the 2026 season, and even if he is, there's a chance that he will never be the same elite-level player that he was prior to getting injured.
Could the San Francisco 49ers be interested in a trade for Minnesota Vikings TE T.J. Hockenson?
For the 2026 campaign, the 49ers only have two tight ends under contract, and one of them is Kittle. The other is Luke Farrell, who caught 11 passes for 85 yards and two touchdowns in 17 games this season.
Is San Francisco going to be okay with potentially entering Week 1 of the 2026 season with Farrell as its No. 1 tight end? That seems like an easy question to answer.
For the upcoming offseason, the 49ers are currently projected to open free agency with more than $39 million in cap space. So, if San Francisco wants to acquire another tight end this year, they can definitely afford to.
Hockenson has two years left on his contract with the Vikings, and if the 49ers were to acquire him in a trade, he would have a 2026 cap hit of $16 million. Based on his play in the last two seasons, it wouldn't be shocking if San Francisco also attempted to renegotiate his deal in order to lower his 2026 cap hit even more.
In terms of what Minnesota could potentially receive in return for the veteran tight end from San Francisco, at best, the Vikings can probably get a high Day 3 draft pick.
In the 2026 NFL Draft, the 49ers currently have three fourth-round selections. If Minnesota can convince San Francisco to give up one of those and maybe a late-round pick in the 2027 draft, then that would feel like a fair trade for the Vikings.
If a deal is made, not only would Minnesota acquire additional draft capital, but they would also free up $8.9 million in cap space, something that the Vikings are in desperate need of this offseason.
Hockenson (28) is more than three years younger than Kittle (32), and he's the kind of tight end that could work well in San Francisco's offense as a safety blanket for quarterback Brock Purdy. Plus, whenever Kittle returns, the 49ers could potentially have a dynamic tight end duo to utilize in the 2026 playoffs if they get that far.
Minnesota would probably like to try to keep Hockenson around for at least one more season, but if a team like San Francisco presents them with an enticing enough trade offer for him in the near future, it might be hard for the Vikings to turn that down.