Vikings' T.J. Hockenson Talks Injury, Wants NFL to Consider Rule Change on Low Hits

Minnesota Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson opened up about the season-ending knee injury he suffered during a Christmas Eve loss to the Detroit Lions and said he believes the NFL should look into ways to minimize dangerous low hits even amid a focus on reducing concussions and head injuries.

He suffered a torn ACL and MCL when Detroit Lions safety Kerby Joseph hit him low in a play Hockenson said he "wasn't too happy about." Joseph also injured Los Angeles Rams tight end Tyler Higbee during a playoff game.

"It's tough," Hockenson said Monday, per ESPN's Kevin Seifert. "It really is. We're big guys running through the middle of the field. This is a business, and I don't think anyone goes out on the field wanting to injure a player like that.

"So, I'm looking at the light of that and hoping that's not what the intent was, to injure a player in that sense. But I think to have it happen a couple weeks later [with Higbee], I think that's something the league needs to look and see what it can do."

There is something of a double standard in place since defenders can hit low on plays like that even though offensive players cannot cut-block in similar areas, although Hockenson also believes the players themselves have a responsibility to keep each other as healthy as possible.

"You really want the players to protect other players," he said. "Whether it's taught or it's not taught from the team or from the league. You just want to be able to protect another guy. That's his career. That's his livelihood. You don't want to affect that, and that's what it's done. At any point, at any play, your career could be over. You don't want to be the guy that did that. At least I don't."

He also said he would have rather suffered a concussion than his injury.

"That puts me out two weeks or three weeks," he said. "This put me out nine months. I can't even train. ... I would have had a normal offseason getting ready for the season. I know some [concussions] are worse than others and I don't want to go down that train of what's worse and what's better. But I've had a concussion. It took me a week. I'm just looking at it from that pure timetable."

There has been a focus on minimizing concussions in recent years in the NFL, which has led to rules against high hits and more protections for quarterbacks.

Yet a smaller tackling zone means defenders often go low to avoid such penalties, which can lead to injuries like the one Hockenson suffered. It is a difficult situation given how fast players are moving during games, but the tight end could also miss time at the start of the 2024 campaign as he continues his recovery.

That would be a significant loss for the Vikings considering the two-time Pro Bowler impressed last year with 95 catches for 960 yards and five touchdowns. The catches and yardage totals were both career-high marks, and he figures to be an important part of the offense again in 2024.

Getting him healthy and on the field will be all the more important if the Vikings end up selecting a quarterback in this year's draft after Kirk Cousins departed to sign with the Atlanta Falcons.

Hockenson can be a veteran leader and safety valve in the middle of the field for the new signal-caller, especially when defenses are focused on Justin Jefferson on the outside.

First, though, he still has to fully recover from last year's setback.