Vikings’ Hockenson tears the ACL and MCL, Wonnum tears the quad, and Addison is day-to-day.
As if Sunday’s one score Vikings loss — the team’s eighth of the season after going 11-0 in such contests a season ago — wasn’t enough, head coach Kevin O’Connell confirmed Tuesday afternoon that tight end T.J. Hockenson tore both his ACL and MCL in the game.
Lions’ safety Kerby Joseph hit him with his helmet to the knee after the Vikings’ tight end made a catch in the middle of the field.
“Very, very unfortunate play,” O’Connell said. “We’ve done a nice job helping take out some of those head and neck area hits to the defenseless players. Some of those low hits can be incredibly catastrophic for guys. It was awful to see that happen.”
Hockenson is third in the NFL in yards for a tight end and leads the league in targets at the position. He has played through multiple injuries this season, but this one will end his year.
“T.J. has been incredibly tough dealing with some things throughout the year… I just absolutely love T.J., love what he is to our organization, love his toughness,” O’Connell said.
It is unknown if he will be ready for the start of the 2024 season.
Edge rusher D.J. Wonnum — who is second on the team with eight sacks, was also hurt in the game. He suffered a torn quad, O’Connell said, and is also out for the year.
Wonnum is in his last year under contract with the Vikings. A fourth-round pick from South Carolina in 2020, it’s possible he might have played his last game for the team.
He went down in the fourth quarter while rushing to get to Lions’ quarterback Jared Goff.
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