When the 2025 NFL season came to a close, there were many questions about the future of the Minnesota Vikings. With much of the focus from experts and analysts being placed on the quarterback position, other areas of the roster weren't as talked about.
However, Vikings fans knew that something had to be done about tight end T.J. Hockenson. Although he can be a great contributor at times, his recent production, paired with a high salary cap hit for 2026, raised questions about his future with the team.
Even when reports came out that Hockenson would be retained for the upcoming season, the question of how the team would make it work needed to be asked. But it seems like the two parties found a way to make it work.
Minnesota Vikings and TE T.J. Hockenson reportedly agree to reworked contract
On Saturday, Tom Pelissero shared a post on X stating that the Minnesota Vikings and star tight end T.J. Hockenson have agreed to a restructured contract to lower his salary cap hit for the upcoming 2026 NFL season.
The details of the new contract are less like a restructure and more like a reworking since it does change the salary cap hit for 2026, but also eliminates 2027 from his deal, making him a free agent after the upcoming season.
T.J. Hockenson's new-look contract frees up $5 million in cap space, which is important since the Vikings still need to get under the cap before the start of the new league year on Wednesday, March 11.
Minnesota's six-foot-five, 249-pound tight end was unable to reach 500 receiving yards during the last two seasons. To make matters worse, he only has three touchdowns in that time period despite seeing action in 25 games.
His numbers should increase with more consistent quarterback play. Head coach Kevin O'Connell and the Vikings front office will be working hard to make sure the struggles on offense last season aren't repeated in 2026.
Hockenson has been named to the Pro Bowl twice in his career and is still only 28 years old. It's great that the former Iowa tight end and Minnesota were able to work something out to not only keep him with the Vikings, but to lower his salary cap hit for the upcoming season.
It will still take some work for the Minnesota Vikings to get out of the red when it comes to their salary cap situation, but getting thisnew contract done with tight end T.J. Hockenson is a great step in the right direction, especially since it means he will likely be wearing a purple and gold jersey in 2026.