Getty T.J. Hockenson on the field with the Lions in 2021.
The Detroit Lions are playing out the string on the 2021 season, and will now be forced to do so without one of their top players and offensive weapons on the roster.
On Thursday, December 16, it was revealed that tight end T.J. Hockenson had undergone surgery for his thumb injury that had been holding him off the field recently. While the injury isn’t serious for the future, it will hold Hockenson out the rest of the way this season.
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The news was broken by ESPN’s Adam Schefter with a tweet that explained the Lions believe Hockenson will be able to return in the 2021 offseason program, but the recovery will cost him the rest of the 2021 year on the field.
Lions’ Pro Bowl TE T.J. Hockenson underwent thumb surgery this morning with the renowned hand-specialist Dr. Thomas Graham, and is expected to make a complete recovery in time for the off-season program, sources tell ESPN. But Hockenson’s 2021 is over.
The Lions will now be rolling with a combination of Brock Wright and Shane Zylstra the rest of the way at the position.
Hockenson Enduring Injury-Riddled Start to Career
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.
For the Lions, the hope is that Hockenson can shake off this latest injury and have a strong career. Safe to say that he has shown what kind of talent he has in a big way so far when healthy.
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. He will have to stay healthy and prove he is over injuries like this in order to do so in the future, however.
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Lions Lose T.J. Hockenson to Season-Ending Surgery: Report