Vikings Officially Place TE T.J. Hockenson & OLB D.J. Wonnum On IR

The Minnesota Vikings announced they placed TE T.J. Hockenson and OLB D.J. Wonnum on injured reserve Wednesday. 

The #Vikings have officially placed TE T.J. Hockenson and OLB D.J. Wonnum on IR.

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) December 27, 2023

Both players were expected to be placed on injured reserve after Hockensen suffered ACL and MCL tears, while Wonnum sustained a partially torn quad in their most recent game against the Lions. 

It’s unfortunate for Wonnum as well because he is just finishing up the final year of his rookie contract and this could complicate his free agent market. 

Hockenson, 26, 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 the team back in August.

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

Wonnum, 26, was drafted by the Vikings in the fourth round out of South Carolina in the 2020 NFL Draft. He’s in the final year of a four-year, $4.04 million rookie contract and set to be an unrestricted free agent in 2024. 

In 2023, Wonnum appeared in 15 games for the Vikings and recorded 62 total tackles, seven tackles for loss, eight sacks, one fumble recovery returned for a touchdown and six pass deflections.