Getty T.J. Hockenson ready to play a game for the Lions in 2021.
The Detroit Lions have spent most of the 2022 offseason rewarding their own key free agents, so it’s not a shock at all to hear the team wants to continue on this mold in the future.
Detroit is trying to establish a solid culture, and in order to do so, they believe they have to keep the players who play a key role for their team and their locker room. Another one of those guys could be needing a contract soon in the form of tight end T.J. Hockenson, and the debate could soon be set to rage about what to do in the future with the player.
The latest Lions news straight to your inbox! Join the Heavy on Lions newsletter here!
Fortunately for Detroit, the decision could be a layup if Pro Football Focus is to be believed. The site and writer Brad Spielberger recently took a look at assessing some decisions that teams have to make with fifth-year options. When it came to Detroit, the prediction was the team will exercise Hockenson’s option given what he has meant to the offense recently and will in the future.
“Even with the elevated number, this is still an easy decision on the former eighth overall pick,” Spielberger wrote in the piece.
Hockenson seems to have carved out a future in Detroit, so it would make sense to see the team bringing him back on such a deal. The Lions will want to see if they can do a long-term deal eventually, but in order to keep him around, it does feel like a no-brainer to use the option on Hockenson and keep him put for the team’s offense given what he has meant.
The tight end already has one Pro Bowl to his credit, and put up a solid 1,673 yards and 12 touchdowns so far in his Detroit career. Those are the kind of numbers which should lead to a comeback.
Hockenson Option Will Be Costly for Lions
How much will the option cost the Lions if they use it? As shown earlier this offseason, 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, but it looks as if it is the move the Lions are planning on for the future.
Brad Holmes Motivated to Keep Hockenson With Option
It sure sounds as if the Lions agree with PFF’s assessment of the situation. Holmes was speaking to the media during the NFL owners meetings on March 29 and left nothing to hide when it comes to Hockenson and Oruwariye and their potential future with the team. According to Holmes, the fifth-year option is going to be used, and the team also wants to see if they can get something done with a player in Oruwariye who has earned his role.
“Hockinson obviously, he’s a big part of what we did last year. It was unfortunate when he became unavailable for us but you know, he’s another one that we’ll be continuing to lean on this this year,” Holmes told the media. Amani, just another another example of a guy that had his best season last year so it just kind of correlates back to that narrative of signing back our own guys. Obviously Amani, with the ball production that he had and just being just a good teammate, he really developed as a leader. He’s gonna be another one. He’s still a young guy that still has meat left on the bone, and you know there’s still upside in him. Those guys will be important discussions that we’ll have to have for the future, but those guys are productive players for us and we’re excited about them this year.”
On the option for Hockenson, Holmes revealed that it’s likely to get done given the team wants to keep the top tight end around.
“I mean unless some something doesn’t happen, then you know we would have an intention to get that fifth-year option done to bring him back last year which maybe kind of got priced out of that desire, but yeah just the opportunity to bring him back,” Holmes said.
Detroit seems to want Hockenson around and doesn’t look like they are afraid of the option. With all this in mind, expect the team to do that move eventually.
READ NEXT: Lions Reportedly Will Bring in Elite SEC Receiver for Pre-Draft Visit