Getty T.J. Hockenson before a Lions game against the Ravens in 2021.
The Detroit Lions have decisions to make about their future, and quite possibly the biggest coming up will involve what to do with tight end T.J. Hockenson.
Hockenson’s contract is coming up in a few years, and the Lions are likely deciding if they want to elect to keep him around on a new deal or utilize the franchise tag. Some new information might help change their minds a bit as it relates to the going rates for tight ends on the market.
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The Lions will have to decide what to do with Hockenson, and the financials of that decision have come into better focus. Next year, if the Lions want to exercise a fifth-year option on Hockenson, it will cost the team $9.4 million
“Fifth-year option for T.J. Hockenson (for 2023) would land at around $9.4M. Franchise tag price for the year keeps ticking up. Would be in the interest of both sides to go long-term, if Hockenson wants to be around. He has outplayed his current 2022 salary ($965K),” Burke tweeted.
With this in mind, the Lions would probably like to work something out with Hockenson if they can. It would be quite costly to do the fifth-year option route or also the franchise tag route for the future.
This isn’t a discussion for now, but something to remember in the next year. If the Lions want to try and save money, they could get a deal done in the longer-term to avoid perhaps more costly situations in the future.
Health for Hockenson Important for 2022 Season
Sadly, the injury to finish the 2021 season for Hockenson may not have been that surprising. The Lions have not been able to keep Hockenson healthy whatsoever early in his young career. His rookie season, Hockenson suffered a foot injury and was forced to miss the end of the 2019 season. Hockenson also suffered a concussion that saw him lose time that year. In 2020, the Lions watched Hockenson play in all 16 games and establish career highs while making the Pro Bowl, showing what he could be for the offense long-term. In spite of that, Hockenson has been banged-up this season, and the hand injury adds another unfortunate layer on to what has been a bumpy career start for the young pass catcher in terms of health.
The Lions and their fans want and need Hockenson to be right into the future. The tight end needs to turn around his health fortunes starting in 2022. Truthfully, that health might be the only thing holding him back from sustained greatness.
Hockenson’s Career Stats & Highlights
There is simply no understating the importance of Hockenson to the Lions in the future moving forward in 2021 and beyond. The team hasn’t gotten much of anything from any of the other tight ends on their roster the last few years, and while he hasn’t had the most dramatic statistical impact thus far in his career, Hockenson has easily been one of the team’s top rookies in 2019 and 2020 and a player capable of impacting both the run and the passing games.
During his rookie season in 2019, many fans were upset with Hockenson for not making a bigger impact on the game. He had only 367 yards and 2 touchdowns on the year which is not the statistical impact that many people expected from him as a top selection for the team. 2020 was a major bounce back from that, though, and Hockenson put up 723 yards and 6 touchdowns to rebound well. This season, Hockenson put up 583 yards and 4 touchdowns to his credit and at times has been the only top pass catcher for the team given other injuries on the roster.
Here’s a look at some of Hockenson’s biggest career plays from 2020 season:
Clearly, Hockenson is on the right track to being thought of as one of the best players in the league at his position. If he keeps trending upward, the team will have no choice but to do a deal with him that keeps him around.
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Lions’ T.J. Hockenson Sees Future Contract Benchmarks Get Set