Ear Infection: TJH
Tight end T.J. Hockenson said his limited participation in Vikings training camp since Aug. 3 has been due to an ear infection.
He was a full participant in Monday's walkthrough — running routes and catching passes from Kirk Cousins — but Hockenson clarified afterward that he's still on the mend.
"I'm starting to get cleared up," Hockenson said Monday. "I had an ear infection that was messing with my equilibrium. Just taking it slow and trying to get back as quick as I can."
Head coach Kevin O'Connell would like to see Hockenson with the first-team offense again when the Tennessee Titans arrive in Eagan for joint practices Wednesday and Thursday. When asked if he'd be ready, Hockenson said he's "taking it day by day."
"The hope is we can start working him back in," O'Connell said Sunday. "This is a pretty critical part of our preparation for the season, especially with our plan for some of our starters, and I know T.J. will be out there when he is ready to go."
Hockenson, a former first-round pick of the Lions acquired in a trade last season, is entering the final year of his contract. He has deflected attention away from contract negotiations this offseason, while also saying, "I hope to be here for a long time."
Retaining Hockenson will be costly. Only the Chiefs' Travis Kelce had more catches and yards at the position than Hockenson after Week 9, when he was acquired by Minnesota. Kelce is one of five NFL tight ends making more than $14 million annually.
He said Monday that his focus is on Sept. 10 vs. the Buccaneers.
"I want to be out there with the boys," Hockenson said. "But on the same hand, I got to get ready for September and that's what I'm looking forward to."
https://www.startribune.com/minnesota-vikings-tj-hockenson-ear-infection-training-camp-brian-oneill/600297082/
Hurry-up Vikings, we ain't getting any younger!
@"Greylock" said:Analytics should have told him to stick with the starters@"Wetlander" said: I honestly don't know why we're dragging our feet signing Hockenson. It ain't the Wilfs holding this up, they've shown they are willing to spend upfront cash on extensions. Is it Kwesi trying to get Hock to sign a short extension to live in today and tomorrow like he so eloquently says? The Twins just lost two games to the Brewers when the bullpen exploded, rumor was Kwesi had something to do with it.
@"Greylock" said:Well, Kwesi hasn't extended a single guy on our current roster. He gave out FA deals that were 1 or 2 years to Murphy and Davenport for our two headline FA signings. Who negotiates the deals? Kwesi and the FO.@"Wetlander" said: I honestly don't know why we're dragging our feet signing Hockenson. It ain't the Wilfs holding this up, they've shown they are willing to spend upfront cash on extensions. Is it Kwesi trying to get Hock to sign a short extension to live in today and tomorrow like he so eloquently says? Of course when all other things sound crazy lets just blame it on Kwesi. Everything about this is all speculation. Doogie thinking he has a scoop and announcing on Skor North to get listeners. It's all about the clicks like wivike said. The Twins just lost two games to the Brewers when the bullpen exploded, rumor was Kwesi had something to do with it.It's time for him to shit or get off the pot. MN won't retain its reputation for taking care of players if we pinch pennies on years and guarantees for our core guys. Now maybe Hock isn't a slam dunk core guy, but I'd argue he is based on the trade comp we gave up. He's a heck of a weapon for Kirk or a young QB (if we go that route next year) and in his prime at 26. Clearly a great fit for this offense based on what he did in half a season last year.
Kwesi cleared a bunch of future cap space this year and last. Time to start using it.
@"supafreak84" said:@"StickyBun" said: So Hock needs a new contract.....and JJ.....and Darrisaw soon. Where's the cap room coming from? Which again, begs the question...we're we wise to make that trade considering he wants to reset the TE contract market (which we knew going in) or were we better off keeping the pick and taking advantage of an obscenely deep TE group in this last draft? The trade didn't get us any closer to getting to a Super Bowl last season and now we are almost forced to tie up huge money at the TE position. I'm not so sure that's the best way to build a roster.I'm just not buying the whole, he wants to reset the TE contract market, thing. He was rescued from the circus in Detroit mid-season. Made the playoffs for the first time. Gets fed the ball from a superior quarterback. And, gets to play in the best stadium in the league. I have serious doubts that the story has any truth to it.
Also, I can speak first hand to having an ear issue. When I lost my ear, the rotational vertigo made it impossible to do even simple things for quite awhile. Now, he obviously didn't have as severe an issue as I had, but when they are acting up, you lose balance, it adds nausea, and impedes most things you are trying to do. None of those things come back quickly.I am not a fan of KAM's drafting. I think the best use of draft picks he has had was using them on the trade for TJ. He isn't just a great player on the field, the fans love him. The contract will come. But again, I don't believe the contract has anything to do with him not practicing.
The Vikings need to get this deal done. The problem (with negotiations) is everyone else knows that too.
If Hockenson really wants to reset the TE market, it's making more and more sense why Detroit was willing to part with him. What I once viewed as a home run for the Vikings and Kwesi may actually wind up being more of an infield single.
@"wiviking" said:@"supafreak84" said:@"StickyBun" said: So Hock needs a new contract.....and JJ.....and Darrisaw soon. Where's the cap room coming from? Which again, begs the question...we're we wise to make that trade considering he wants to reset the TE contract market (which we knew going in) or were we better off keeping the pick and taking advantage of an obscenely deep TE group in this last draft? The trade didn't get us any closer to getting to a Super Bowl last season and now we are almost forced to tie up huge money at the TE position. I'm not so sure that's the best way to build a roster.I'm just not buying the whole, he wants to reset the TE contract market, thing. He was rescued from the circus in Detroit mid-season. Made the playoffs for the first time. Gets fed the ball from a superior quarterback. And, gets to play in the best stadium in the league. I have serious doubts that the story has any truth to it.
He may not reset the market, but contracts are going up everywhere (besides RB) and he will want to be paid top 2 or 3 money at the position, and he is deserving of it. The question is were/are the Vikings in position to do that? How many groundbreaking contracts can we give out between JJ, Darrisaw, and our unsettled long term QB issue?TJ is a great player, there's no doubting that, but I still contend we might have been better off NOT making the trade and drafting one of these TE's and having them on a rookie contract while we settle these other contracts and cap allocation issues.
@"purplefaithful" said:@"Montana Tom" said: Tell me this is BS. But there is smoke here... https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10087085-nfl-rumors-tj-hockenson-vikings-far-apart-on-contract-te-wants-historic-deal
I love TJH, but asking for more $$ than Kittle or Kelce is stretching things - just a bit. This doesnt look like it will get resolved this year, does it?I guess the good news for the Vikings is there is nobody on the D side of the ball that is going to be demanding top $ at their position for a while, outside of Hunter.
Kittle and Kelce both got signed to extensions in 2020. It shouldn’t be a surprise if other TEs start
getting bigger contracts than them. It’s
been this way for a while now as the cap is growing exponentially.
@"supafreak84" said:@"wiviking" said:@"supafreak84" said:@"StickyBun" said: So Hock needs a new contract.....and JJ.....and Darrisaw soon. Where's the cap room coming from? Which again, begs the question...we're we wise to make that trade considering he wants to reset the TE contract market (which we knew going in) or were we better off keeping the pick and taking advantage of an obscenely deep TE group in this last draft? The trade didn't get us any closer to getting to a Super Bowl last season and now we are almost forced to tie up huge money at the TE position. I'm not so sure that's the best way to build a roster.I'm just not buying the whole, he wants to reset the TE contract market, thing. He was rescued from the circus in Detroit mid-season. Made the playoffs for the first time. Gets fed the ball from a superior quarterback. And, gets to play in the best stadium in the league. I have serious doubts that the story has any truth to it.
He may not reset the market, but contracts are going up everywhere (besides RB) and he will want to be paid top 2 or 3 money at the position, and he is deserving of it. The question is were/are the Vikings in position to do that? How many groundbreaking contracts can we give out between JJ, Darrisaw, and our unsettled long term QB issue?TJ is a great player, there's no doubting that, but I still contend we might have been better off NOT making the trade and drafting one of these TE's and having them on a rookie contract while we settle these other contracts and cap allocation issues.
Younger and cheaper is nice. But I just don't have much confidence in KAM's drafting skills. With TJ, we know what we got. With Cine, Booth, Ingram, we'll see. But when you look at Hamilton or McDuffie, it would have been nice to have one of those guys.
@"wiviking" said:@"supafreak84" said:@"wiviking" said:@"supafreak84" said:@"StickyBun" said: So Hock needs a new contract.....and JJ.....and Darrisaw soon. Where's the cap room coming from? Which again, begs the question...we're we wise to make that trade considering he wants to reset the TE contract market (which we knew going in) or were we better off keeping the pick and taking advantage of an obscenely deep TE group in this last draft? The trade didn't get us any closer to getting to a Super Bowl last season and now we are almost forced to tie up huge money at the TE position. I'm not so sure that's the best way to build a roster.I'm just not buying the whole, he wants to reset the TE contract market, thing. He was rescued from the circus in Detroit mid-season. Made the playoffs for the first time. Gets fed the ball from a superior quarterback. And, gets to play in the best stadium in the league. I have serious doubts that the story has any truth to it.
He may not reset the market, but contracts are going up everywhere (besides RB) and he will want to be paid top 2 or 3 money at the position, and he is deserving of it. The question is were/are the Vikings in position to do that? How many groundbreaking contracts can we give out between JJ, Darrisaw, and our unsettled long term QB issue?TJ is a great player, there's no doubting that, but I still contend we might have been better off NOT making the trade and drafting one of these TE's and having them on a rookie contract while we settle these other contracts and cap allocation issues.
Younger and cheaper is nice. But I just don't have much confidence in KAM's drafting skills. With TJ, we know what we got. With Cine, Booth, Ingram, we'll see. But when you look at Hamilton or McDuffie, it would have been nice to have one of those guys.
Good points
The problem with wanting to get the #1 TE contract is that
the franchise tag is cheaper than your average yearly cost. I don’t think it’s a huge risk for the Vikings
to string this along for a little while.
We should get a deal done at some point, but it’s not hugely dire if he
holds out for some practices. It's also not horrible if we tag him and get 2.5 years out of him for good but not massive money.
@"medaille" said: The problem with wanting to get the #1 TE contract is that the franchise tag is cheaper than your average yearly cost. I don’t think it’s a huge risk for the Vikings to string this along for a little while. We should get a deal done at some point, but it’s not hugely dire if he holds out for some practices. It's also not horrible if we tag him and get 2.5 years out of him for good but not massive money.
We have seen how the franchise tag works, it's supposed to be an option to give teams and the player time to work out an extension. Hock may play on the tag this year, but it'll get ugly if we try to tag him twice. You're basically telling the guy he's not someone your willing to commit money to... either he is or he isn't. This sounds good in theory but it's just a way to alienate a good player and won't sit well with other players on the team.
@"Wetlander" said:@"medaille" said: The problem with wanting to get the #1 TE contract is that the franchise tag is cheaper than your average yearly cost. I don’t think it’s a huge risk for the Vikings to string this along for a little while. We should get a deal done at some point, but it’s not hugely dire if he holds out for some practices. It's also not horrible if we tag him and get 2.5 years out of him for good but not massive money.
We have seen how the franchise tag works, it's supposed to be an option to give teams and the player time to work out an extension. Hock may play on the tag this year, but it'll get ugly if we try to tag him twice. You're basically telling the guy he's not someone your willing to commit money to... either he is or he isn't. This sounds good in theory but it's just a way to alienate a good player and won't sit well with other players on the team.
Iirc he's not on a tag this year, this is still his rookie contract through this season, so next year would be his first tagged season if it were to come to that.
@"medaille" said:@"purplefaithful" said:@"Montana Tom" said: Tell me this is BS. But there is smoke here... https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10087085-nfl-rumors-tj-hockenson-vikings-far-apart-on-contract-te-wants-historic-deal
I love TJH, but asking for more $$ than Kittle or Kelce is stretching things - just a bit. This doesnt look like it will get resolved this year, does it?I guess the good news for the Vikings is there is nobody on the D side of the ball that is going to be demanding top $ at their position for a while, outside of Hunter.
Kittle and Kelce both got signed to extensions in 2020. It shouldn’t be a surprise if other TEs start
getting bigger contracts than them. It’s
been this way for a while now as the cap is growing exponentially.
Exactly. A top 5 player at his position is almost always going to reset the market...temporarily. Not because he's necessarily better than the other 4, but simply because he was the latest to sign a new contract.
@"supafreak84" said:@"wiviking" said:@"supafreak84" said:@"StickyBun" said: So Hock needs a new contract.....and JJ.....and Darrisaw soon. Where's the cap room coming from? Which again, begs the question...we're we wise to make that trade considering he wants to reset the TE contract market (which we knew going in) or were we better off keeping the pick and taking advantage of an obscenely deep TE group in this last draft? The trade didn't get us any closer to getting to a Super Bowl last season and now we are almost forced to tie up huge money at the TE position. I'm not so sure that's the best way to build a roster.I'm just not buying the whole, he wants to reset the TE contract market, thing. He was rescued from the circus in Detroit mid-season. Made the playoffs for the first time. Gets fed the ball from a superior quarterback. And, gets to play in the best stadium in the league. I have serious doubts that the story has any truth to it.
He may not reset the market, but contracts are going up everywhere (besides RB) and he will want to be paid top 2 or 3 money at the position, and he is deserving of it. The question is were/are the Vikings in position to do that? How many groundbreaking contracts can we give out between JJ, Darrisaw, and our unsettled long term QB issue?TJ is a great player, there's no doubting that, but I still contend we might have been better off NOT making the trade and drafting one of these TE's and having them on a rookie contract while we settle these other contracts and cap allocation issues.
Rookie TEs rarely make an impact. Travis Kelce had 67 receptions for 862 yards with 5 TDs his rookie year. TJH had 32/367/2.
Sure, we could've drafted Dalton Kincaid but it would've cost us Addison.
@"Knucklehead" said:@"supafreak84" said:@"wiviking" said:@"supafreak84" said:@"StickyBun" said: So Hock needs a new contract.....and JJ.....and Darrisaw soon. Where's the cap room coming from? Which again, begs the question...we're we wise to make that trade considering he wants to reset the TE contract market (which we knew going in) or were we better off keeping the pick and taking advantage of an obscenely deep TE group in this last draft? The trade didn't get us any closer to getting to a Super Bowl last season and now we are almost forced to tie up huge money at the TE position. I'm not so sure that's the best way to build a roster.I'm just not buying the whole, he wants to reset the TE contract market, thing. He was rescued from the circus in Detroit mid-season. Made the playoffs for the first time. Gets fed the ball from a superior quarterback. And, gets to play in the best stadium in the league. I have serious doubts that the story has any truth to it.
He may not reset the market, but contracts are going up everywhere (besides RB) and he will want to be paid top 2 or 3 money at the position, and he is deserving of it. The question is were/are the Vikings in position to do that? How many groundbreaking contracts can we give out between JJ, Darrisaw, and our unsettled long term QB issue?TJ is a great player, there's no doubting that, but I still contend we might have been better off NOT making the trade and drafting one of these TE's and having them on a rookie contract while we settle these other contracts and cap allocation issues.
Rookie TEs rarely make an impact. Travis Kelce had 67 receptions for 862 yards with 5 TDs his rookie year. TJH had 32/367/2.
Sure, we could've drafted Dalton Kincaid but it would've cost us Addison.
Not necessarily. There were quality prospects TE through the 3rd round and if we don't make the trade we could have used our second round pick to draft a TE or move up. If the choice was between acquiring Hockenson for a second round pick and having to make him the highest paid TE in the league, or for example drafting Michael Mayer and having him on a rookie contract for four years while we sort out those other contract issues I mentioned...the latter might have been the better option.There are only so many pieces of the pie to go around. Kelce is a great example. The Chiefs can afford to pay him top dollar because they don't have a Justin Jefferson at WR who will be one of the highest paid players in the league regardless of position. The Chiefs traded Tyreek Hill for this very reason. It's about money allocation and do you want to have a ton of cap tied up at the TE position when we don't have a QBOTF yet and we need upgrades along both lines.
https://sidelionreport.com/posts/recent-news-further-confirms-lions-have-already-won--tj-hockenson-trade
Lions already claiming "victory" in Hockenson trade with Vikings for the same reasons I was saying it might have been a smarter play for the Vikings to sit tight and draft a guy in a historically deep TE draft crop..
@"supafreak84" said: https://sidelionreport.com/posts/recent-news-further-confirms-lions-have-already-won--tj-hockenson-tradeLions already claiming "victory" in Hockenson trade with Vikings for the same reasons I was saying it might have been a smarter play for the Vikings to sit tight and draft a guy in a historically deep TE draft crop..
Fully evaluating the "winner" and "loser" from an NFL trade with players and draft picks in it would usually take longer. Like after said draft picks become players, then said players have played some meaningful games. But the Hockenson deal can already be called as a win for the Lions.
What the hell kind of conclusion is that? We have an all pro TE that we will have to pay FMV and the Lions have two unknown draft picks, where is the win?
@"minny65" said:@"supafreak84" said: https://sidelionreport.com/posts/recent-news-further-confirms-lions-have-already-won--tj-hockenson-tradeLions already claiming "victory" in Hockenson trade with Vikings for the same reasons I was saying it might have been a smarter play for the Vikings to sit tight and draft a guy in a historically deep TE draft crop..
Fully evaluating the "winner" and "loser" from an NFL trade with players and draft picks in it would usually take longer. Like after said draft picks become players, then said players have played some meaningful games. But the Hockenson deal can already be called as a win for the Lions.What the hell kind of conclusion is that? We have an all pro TE that we will have to pay FMV and the Lions have two unknown draft picks, where is the win?
The win would be they didn't value him at the cost of paying him top 2 or 3 money, and we're able to parlay him into draft picks and drafted Sam LaPorta in the second round, who has reportedly been very impressive in camp, and have him on a rookie contract for the next four years.I think the Vikings made the trade in an attempt to get over the hump last year and compete for the Super Bowl. It was a gamble that didn't pay off and now we are going to have to pay him big money....on top of trying to find money to pay Jefferson a record contract and eventually Darrisaw. Never mind the fact that we have no long term answer at QB unless we extend Kirk, which will be another big money contract. There's only so much pie to go around.
Earache? Earache, my eye!
This shit better get worked out before I take Hock in the second round of my FF drafts.
@"supafreak84" said:@"minny65" said:@"supafreak84" said: https://sidelionreport.com/posts/recent-news-further-confirms-lions-have-already-won--tj-hockenson-tradeLions already claiming "victory" in Hockenson trade with Vikings for the same reasons I was saying it might have been a smarter play for the Vikings to sit tight and draft a guy in a historically deep TE draft crop..
Fully evaluating the "winner" and "loser" from an NFL trade with players and draft picks in it would usually take longer. Like after said draft picks become players, then said players have played some meaningful games. But the Hockenson deal can already be called as a win for the Lions.What the hell kind of conclusion is that? We have an all pro TE that we will have to pay FMV and the Lions have two unknown draft picks, where is the win?
The win would be they didn't value him at the cost of paying him top 2 or 3 money, and we're able to parlay him into draft picks and drafted Sam LaPorta in the second round, who has reportedly been very impressive in camp, and have him on a rookie contract for the next four years.I think the Vikings made the trade in an attempt to get over the hump last year and compete for the Super Bowl. It was a gamble that didn't pay off and now we are going to have to pay him big money....on top of trying to find money to pay Jefferson a record contract and eventually Darrisaw. Never mind the fact that we have no long term answer at QB unless we extend Kirk, which will be another big money contract. There's only so much pie to go around.
The way things are shaping up, we will have him this season and next under the Franchise Tag before we let him walk in 2025. He and his agent are delusional for thinking they can reset the TE market for a one dimensional pass catching Tight End. Oliver actually looks a lot more like a complete player at only $7 Million, Mundt is a fantastic number 2, and I hope they figure out a way to keep Muse who is shaping up to be a great receiving threat with some run after the catch abilities. If the Vikings season goes sideways, I suspect they will try to trade him at the deadline. His agent is well aware that the best chance to get the most money out of the Vikings was to get the deal done now before JJ's extension which is why they tried the soft holdout strategy, but all reports indicate they are not even close on money so unless his number comes down closer to $13 Million, I don't see it happening.
@"TBro" said:@"supafreak84" said:@"minny65" said:@"supafreak84" said: https://sidelionreport.com/posts/recent-news-further-confirms-lions-have-already-won--tj-hockenson-tradeLions already claiming "victory" in Hockenson trade with Vikings for the same reasons I was saying it might have been a smarter play for the Vikings to sit tight and draft a guy in a historically deep TE draft crop..
Fully evaluating the "winner" and "loser" from an NFL trade with players and draft picks in it would usually take longer. Like after said draft picks become players, then said players have played some meaningful games. But the Hockenson deal can already be called as a win for the Lions.What the hell kind of conclusion is that? We have an all pro TE that we will have to pay FMV and the Lions have two unknown draft picks, where is the win?
The win would be they didn't value him at the cost of paying him top 2 or 3 money, and we're able to parlay him into draft picks and drafted Sam LaPorta in the second round, who has reportedly been very impressive in camp, and have him on a rookie contract for the next four years.I think the Vikings made the trade in an attempt to get over the hump last year and compete for the Super Bowl. It was a gamble that didn't pay off and now we are going to have to pay him big money....on top of trying to find money to pay Jefferson a record contract and eventually Darrisaw. Never mind the fact that we have no long term answer at QB unless we extend Kirk, which will be another big money contract. There's only so much pie to go around.
The way things are shaping up, we will have him this season and next under the Franchise Tag before we let him walk in 2025. He and his agent are delusional for thinking they can reset the TE market for a one dimensional pass catching Tight End. Oliver actually looks a lot more like a complete player at only $7 Million, Mundt is a fantastic number 2, and I hope they figure out a way to keep Muse who is shaping up to be a great receiving threat with some run after the catch abilities. If the Vikings season goes sideways, I suspect they will try to trade him at the deadline. His agent is well aware that the best chance to get the most money out of the Vikings was to get the deal done now before JJ's extension which is why they tried the soft holdout strategy, but all reports indicate they are not even close on money so unless his number comes down closer to $13 Million, I don't see it happening.
With Evan Engram and Kmet getting more than 13 mil per year earlier this off-season, we ain't getting Hock for that.It's one reason I didn't understand waiting... it was only going to get more expensive once more data points were on the market. If Hock isn't worth paying top tier TE money, then we shouldn't have traded for him to begin with.
I'm not feeling real confident in Kwesi right now. Sounds like there were discussions with Jefferson's agent earlier this summer about doing an extension and then that fizzled. Now talks with Hock have fizzled... I'm not getting good vibes.
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