Where is the TJ Hockenson extension buzz?
When the Minnesota Vikings traded for tight end TJ Hockenson last year, it appeared to be both a big swing at a deep playoff run and a play toward the future.
While the first part of that didn’t exactly work out, that wasn’t for lack of trying by Hockenson caught 10 passes in the Vikings’ playoff loss to the Giants and finished the season with 70 catches in 11 games in purple. Overall for the 2022 season only Travis Kelce had more targets and yards among tight ends.
The former first-round pick of the Lions was everything the Vikings hoped he would be, from a player with enough football IQ to play at a high level immediately after the mid-season trade to a versatile weapon who lined up in the slot on 36% of snaps (per PFF). He even had more contested catches as a Viking (14) than any other TE in the league grabbed for the entire season.
So why hasn’t there been more discussion about a contract extension for Hockenson?
The Vikings have certainly been in the news often during the slowest parts of the offseason. From trading Za’Darius Smith to releasing Dalvin Cook to Justin Jefferson missing OTAs to Danielle Hunter holding out of minicamp, there has been no shortage of contract-related buzz. Ironically talk of a Hockenson extension has been overshadowed by Jefferson’s eligibility (and presumably desire) for a new deal despite the fact that Hockenson’s situation is more urgent. He becomes a free agent after this season whereas Jefferson can play this year and still be under contract through 2024 with his fifth-year option picked up.
There could be a franchise tag possibility with Hockenson but that would give the Vikings a lot less flexibility with the salary cap. Plus the tag usually means an extension at any point is out the window.
Signing a pass-catching tight end to a long-term deal appears to be a bit of a cap hack these days, depending on the player. While receivers cracked the $30 million per year mark last year with Tyreek Hill’s contract, the highest paid tight end in the NFL only makes $17 per year. Somehow Kelce caught 110 passes for 1,338 yards and has an AAV of $14.3 million. If he was designated as a receiver, he’d get double that.
The Vikings need to be conscious of their spending around a presumed Jefferson mega deal. They will also have to pay Christian Darrisaw a long-term extension assuming his career trajectory continues the way it went last year and if both players are among the highest paid at their position there isn’t much room to add a free agent receiver if KJ Osborn leaves after this season. Plus the bang-for-buck isn’t very impressive in the free agent receiver market. Hunter Renfrow makes more per year than Kelce.
From the perspective of the team, there doesn’t appear much to debate. Hockenson is an elite pass-catching tight end who is only 26 years old and hasn’t had any major injury issues. That screams five-year extension.
But only if he wants to sign on the dotted line now. Prior to last season the Raiders signed 31-year-old tight end Darren Waller to a contract worth $17 million per year and the previous year Mark Andrews got $30 million fully guaranteed, most in the NFL for a second contract tight end.
If Hockenson plays the entire year as a Viking and catches 100 passes from Kirk Cousins — who he had natural chemistry with from the start — he would be in line to be one of the most sought-after free agents in the NFL next offseason. Keep in mind that there were only four tight ends with 100-plus targets last season and teams looking to the draft have seen very little success with tight ends right away. The market for his services would be robust.
Agreeing to an extension now would give Hockenson security in case he suffered a serious injury and it would keep him in a place where he’s clearly a fit but it would be hard not to be enticed by the idea of betting on himself.
There’s also the question about a new front office mentality that we have seen this offseason.
In years past Za’Darius Smith would have gotten a new deal. Patrick Peterson’s price would have been met. The offer to rework Adam Thielen’s contract would have kept him happy and in purple. Dalvin Cook wouldn’t have gone anywhere. Danielle Hunter would have been at minicamp with a big extension. But those things didn’t happen. Call it hardball or sticking to a price and not moving off it. Either way, it’s not like the recent past.
Do the Vikings have a price in mind that they’re willing to give Hockenson and not a dollar more? Those other moves were shrewd considering where the team stands in its present timeline.
Not extending Hockenson would come across like GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah holding the line too hard. It wouldn’t really fit with the timeline either. Letting a young Pro Bowler at a skill position walk isn’t exactly the best way to set up the next franchise quarterback. If they have to bend a little to make it happen now, there won’t be any complaints.
That isn’t to suggest that the Vikings’ future rests on backing up the Brinks truck to Hockenson’s house. There could be case that he was more of an underneath option and that spending that money elsewhere (defense?) could be better down the road. But that’s a tough sell, particularly when the Vikings gave up a second-round pick in the 2023 draft. If he walks — whether it’s their fault or not — it will have been much more of a short-term decision than anyone thought at the time and change the perception of Adofo-Mensah’s biggest win of his tenure.
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. When the Vikings return to work after summer, he should be on their priority list. Maybe not first or second because Jefferson and Hunter are currently holding those positions but it should be a major goal to extend him at some point before the season starts. If not, then the buzz is going to grow louder.
