The end of the 2023 season for the Minnesota Vikings was a tumultuous one for the Minnesota Vikings. They lost the final four games of the season and saw star tight end T.J. Hockenson go down with a torn ACL.
That injury is set to hinder the start of his 2024 season because he had reconstructive surgery on January 26th. Hockenson had to wait that long due to damage his MCL suffered, as his knee was swollen from the damage.
With J.J. McCarthy, he is set to have surgery on an injured meniscus. The timetable is yet to be determined, as the severity is unknown. The timetable for his injury could be either 4-6 weeks or at least 4-6 months.
New rule makes things easier for Vikings with T.J. Hockenson and J.J. McCarthy's injury
In previous years, the Vikings would have had to keep Hockenson and McCarthy on the active roster through final cutdown day and past the first waivers if they wanted him to play during the year. In 2024, that has changed for the better.
Each NFL team can now place two players on injured reserve with an eligible-to-return designation on cut-down day.
That would give the Vikings more flexibility with the 53-man roster. In previous years, they would have had to wait until the first waivers were run to be placed on injured reserve. Now, the Vikings can place them on injured reserve to start the year.
With Hockenson, he is currently on the PUP list so they don't have to worry about him at the moment. They will need to if they choose to activate him for practicing purposes, something that feels possible.
McCarthy's surgery will tell us everything about his surgery but if they want him to return potentially in six weeks, they can place him on injured reserve and keep a player like Bo Richter on the roster.
It's a nice tool for the Vikings to have at their disposal if they need it.
