It may just be “bumps and bruises” for Minnesota Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson, but without him and Justin Jefferson available at the team’s annual night practice, quarterback J.J. McCarthy struggled.
In front of a sold-out crowd of 7,000 fans on Monday, August 2, McCarthy was under pressure from the defense often and was largely on the run and checking the ball down — not an encouraging performance for fans eager to see from the 22-year-old.
As Jefferson is expected to continue to miss practice and Hockenson is yet to return from an injury he suffered over the weekend, the Vikings made a move to help McCarthy with his development.
On Monday, the Vikings signed veteran tight end Nick Vannett, a 10-year veteran with 108 catches, 1,012 yards and nine touchdowns in his career. Last season, Vannett, 31, tallied 17 receptions for 135 yards and three touchdowns on 20 targets for the Tennessee Titans. He played 399 offensive snaps, the most since his age-26 season in 2019.
While Hockenson doesn’t seem in danger of missing time in the regular season, the addition of Vannett comes as a harbinger for fifth-round rookie Gavin Bartholomew, who remains on the team’s physically unable to perform (PUP) list.
Kevin O’Connell Offers T.J. Hockenson Injury Update
On Monday, Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell updated Hockenson’s injury status, calling it “day-to-day normal training camp bumps and bruises.”
The specifics of the injury are still in question. Hockenson hobbled off the practice field on Saturday and was said to be pointing at his leg. O’Connell described the injury as a “hip, leg, back [injury]. Whatever you want to classify that.”
With the first game of the preseason ahead of Saturday, August 9, against the Houston Texans, the Vikings needed to shore up their tight end room.
With Hockenson sidelined, Josh Oliver leads the charge, followed by a bottleneck of talent behind him in Ben Yurosek (undrafted rookie), Giovanni Ricci (undrafted 2021), Bryson Nesbit (undrafted rookie) and Vannnett.
The Vikings’ first “unofficial” depth chart is slated to be released this week, which should be telling about the status of the tight end room.
Vikings Defense Menacing J.J. McCarthy, QB Continues to Mature
Monday night’s practice was another case of the defense flat-out beating the offense, some of which is out of McCarthy’s control.
However, that’s a reality the 22-year-old has not fully accepted due to his competitive nature.
McCarthy flashed that spirit when he took issue with an unblocked pass rusher drilling running back Aaron Jones, shoving 260-pound linebacker Tyler Batty after the play.
“Without getting into too much detail, some of [the pressure] hasn’t been schemed. Some of it’s been guys like [Javon] Hargrave, [Jonathan] Allen, [Jonathan] Greenard, Dallas Turner, flat-out winning right now on a pass rush,” O’Connell said last Friday. “And no, we have not had our top five [offensive linemen] up there, but that pass rush, without it needing to be schemed, has been winning up front. And that’s the challenge for our O-line as it comes together.”
“Every quarterback that’s normally found success in the NFL has been competitive. It’s not like he can physically go put his hands on somebody on the next play like some other positions can and get some anger and aggression out,” O’Connell added. “Just move on to the next play and do your job and implore the other 10 guys in that huddle to meet the moment and do their job. That’s competition. And that’s why I thought Wednesday was a great, great learning op for us and expect to see many, many more chances to respond playing against that group the rest of the way.”
