Vikings Downgrade TE T.J. Hockenson To Out, Elevate Two

According to Tom Pelissero, the Vikings are downgrading TE T.J. Hockenson to out for tonight’s game against the Rams. 

Pelissero says the plan, however, is to activate Hockenson to the roster tomorrow from injured reserve and have him make his season debut in Week 9 against the Colts. 

Minnesota announced it elevated TE Robert Tonyan and DL Jalen Redmond from the practice squad to the active roster for Thursday night. 

Hockenson, 27, is a former first-round pick of the Lions back in 2019. He was in the fourth year of his four-year rookie deal worth $19,821,230 when the Lions traded him to the Vikings, acquiring a second and a third in exchange for also including two fourths.

The Lions had exercised Hockenson’s fifth-year option slated to cost $9.4 million guaranteed for the 2023 season. He then signed a four-year, $68.5 million extension with Minnesota back in August of 2023.

In 2023, Hockenson appeared in 15 games for the Vikings and recorded 95 receptions for 960 yards and five touchdowns.

Tonyan, 30, originally signed on with the Lions as an undrafted free agent out of Indiana State back in 2017. He lasted just a few months in Detroit before he was waived at the start of the 2017 season.

The Packers later signed Tonyan to their practice squad towards the end 2017 season and brought him back in 2018 on a futures contract. He re-signed with Green Bay as an exclusive rights-free agent for each of the next two seasons.

Tonyan then returned to the Packers on a restricted deal before agreeing to a new one-year deal with Green Bay. He signed a one-year contract with the Bears last offseason before joining Minnesota this offseason.

The Vikings released him coming out of training camp before re-signing him to the practice squad. He was released in October after signing to the active roster and re-signed to the practice squad again.

In 2024, Tonyan has appeared in four games for the Vikings and has not recorded a statistic.