On Christmas Eve of last year, a low hit from Lions safety Kerby Joseph tore the ACL of former Lions, now Vikings, tight end T.J. Hockenson. On Sunday night, Hockenson will face his former team for the first time since it happened.
Hockenson returned from the injury in little more than 10 months. He has 39 catches for 448 yards in nine games. And he has become a key option for quarterback Sam Darnold against defenses that hope to slow down Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison.
“That’s not really anything I try to think about,” Hockenson told reporters on Thursday the ACL tear. “Injuries happen in this game and in this league. And, you know, I’ve had multiple injuries throughout my career. And things — you just don’t think about [them]. I’ve played against many teams that I’d things go against. . . . It’s just a new game, it’s another game. I’m excited to play them for sure, and I’m excited to be out there with the boys this time around and be able to make an impact that way, but nothing like that really goes in your head. You’ve got to just let that kind of stuff go and realize it’s football and it’s another game.”
A few weeks later, Joseph tore Rams tight end Tyler Higbee’s ACL on a low hit in a playoff win, prompting Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford to yell at Joseph, “That’s a good hit, but you’re dirty as fuck, and you know it. You’re dirty as fuck. It’s been on tape. I’ve seen it. It’s been on tape.”
It’s legal to hit a receiver low, but no receiver wants to take a low hit. They’d much rather be hit high, even if it means being concussed, than rehabbing a serious knee injury.
Whether Joseph will play the same way remains to be seen. Fresh from being snubbed for the Pro Bowl despite leading the league in interceptions, he might have a little extra something for anyone who gets in his way.
Again, it’s legal to do it. And players who cross paths with Joseph need to be ready for it.
Hockenson says he’s not thinking about it. It’s hard to think he won’t have a little extra motivation, beyond the highest stakes of any game ever played between Minnesota and Detroit, to have a big game in his first game against the Lions since the injury happened.
