The Minnesota Vikings are still waiting for their star tight end, T.J. Hockenson, to hit the practice field after suffering a torn ACL last season. Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell gave an update on Hockenson’s status at practice on Aug. 2, and many fans should be excited, but still cautious, about what he had to say.

“Every time I see him working on the side field it becomes awfully tempting to corner [trainer Tyler Williams] somewhere in the building and demand answers on when we’ll be able to start implementing him maybe off the PUP list and get him a little bit of work,” O’Connell said. “Whether it’s just simply individual, some routes on air, start getting him some timing with our quarterbacks.”

Though they may have seemed like good news, O’Connell still says that it will take some time until Hockenson is back on the field.

“Where he’s at, albeit very well ahead of maybe where some of the medical folks thought he would be, there is an injury there that a timeline exists and we’re going to try to stay true to that while also giving him ops to push to maybe shrink that timeline a little bit,” O’Connell said.

The Minnesota Vikings might be without T.J. Hockenson in Week 1

Kevin O’Connell still isn’t in a place to think about T.J. Hockenson playing in Week 1 against the New York Giants.

“I don’t think it would be responsible at this point with where he’s at in his rehab to start even me personally thinking about are we going to have him or are we not,” O’Connell said. “I want him focusing on what he can control, which is what he’s done an unbelievable job of so far which is his daily mission of just attacking this thing one day at a time.”

Head Coach Kevin O'Connell provides an update on TE T.J. Hockenson pic.twitter.com/yRtS8Kvz3e

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) August 2, 2024

Hockenson tore his ACL last year in December, and it sounds like he’s ahead of schedule. Returning from ACL injuries is always tricky because sometimes it takes players longer than others to come back fully ready to go. On average, it usually takes around nine to 12 months for a full recovery from a torn ACL. With around six weeks left until Week 1, Hockenson still has a lot of time to prepare to come back, but O’Connell seems to be very cautious about how he handles the injury.

The tight end spot is looking short for the Vikings as of now, as Robert Tonyan was just carted off the field during training camp on July 31 after suffering from back spasms. Tonyan was signed during free agency to help the Vikings build depth at the tight end position, especially with Hockenson still sidelined.

Now, the Vikings will have to rely on Johnny Mundt, Josh Oliver, and Nick Muse to carry the load at the tight end position.