Vikings Lose A Prolific Star To ACL Injury Who Has Just Being Ruled Out Of Season…
The Minnesota Vikings will now need to overcome yet another serious injury during the final two weeks of the season, despite their best efforts to stay in the running for the playoffs without Kirk Cousins.
Due to a knee injury, Vikings star tight end TJ Hockenson left the game early in Monday’s 30-24 loss to the Detroit Lions. Hockenson will miss the rest of the season due to an ACL and MCL tear, the team announced on Tuesday.
With the Vikings, Hockenson was enjoying a career year. His career highs of 95 catches and 960 receiving yards put him ahead of the Vikings. When Justin Jefferson missed multiple games due to a hamstring injury, the 26-year-old was the center of attention for Minnesota’s offense.
The Vikings’ loss to Detroit dropped them to 7-8. They are still very much in the postseason picture as they enter Week 17 in eighth place in the NFC.
In Weeks 17 and 18, Minnesota will play the Green Bay Packers and the Lions, respectively. The loss of Hockenson made their chances of making the playoffs even more slim.
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TJ Hockenson and DJ Wonnum Added to the Vikings IR list
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According to Kevin O’Connell, TJ Hockenson, the starting tight end for the Vikings, tore his ACL and MCL ligaments during Sunday’s game against the Lions. As a result, he needed surgery and had to miss the remainder of the season. Following surgery, he’ll probably be on a rehabilitation program that, depending on how well he does, might last until the first few games of the following season.
Starting defensive end DJ Wonnum also suffered a season-ending injury- a torn quad muscle that will also require surgery and a significant rehab schedule that will likely keep him out of practices next off-season. Wonnum is also on the last year of his contract, so his injury casts some doubt on what the Vikings will elect to do with him next year, despite his having his best season as a pro this year.
Additionally, O’Connell said Jordan Addison and Mekhi Blackmon, who suffered ankle and shoulder injuries respectively during the Lions’ game, are ‘day-to-day,’ meaning they could potentially play next Sunday against the Packers.
Due to injuries to important players, the Vikings are still having one of their worst seasons. In addition to losing starting quarterback Kirk Cousins for the entire season, they have also lost leading wide receiver Justin Jefferson for half of it, Marcus Davenport—one of their biggest off-season acquisitions—as well as Jordan Hicks for multiple games and several starting offensive linemen.
Overall, the Vikings have been the worst hit team offensively in terms of injuries measured by the PFF wins-above-replacement (WAR) metric, and losing Hockenson only adds to that. Defensively, Wonnum was technically the backup to Marcus Davenport, who’s been on IR or inactive almost the entire season.
Despite everything that has gone wrong this season, the Vikings still have a chance to make the playoffs as they limp toward the end of the regular season due to these most recent injuries.