T.J. Hockenson previews London trip, Vikings '24 schedule

against the Jets and Aaron Rodgers. And you see 87 right there in that post. And you see him joining us right here right now. The two time Pro Bowler and an all time favorite of ours. We have tight end T.J. Hockenson for the Vikings. Welcome Thanks for joining us. I see that you're in the car. So you were just at OTAs I know you were with team a little bit. You're rehabbing. This is a very exciting time of year for you and all the fans because we get the schedule, we get to plan. And London, like I just mentioned, you didn't get a chance to go to London the last time the Vikings went because you hadn't been traded there yet. Now you get to go. I'm not sure if you've ever been there in general, but are you excited about that one? Yeah, I'm super excited, I have not ever been there, you know, it'll be a great matchup against the Jets, obviously, just super excited. It's, I know it's a great venue. You know, going overseas, expanding the league in the NFL and the fan base, across not just the nation, but the world, is just super exciting for, you know, the Minnesota Vikings. And to continue, you know, carry on on that great tradition as you rehab from the seals ACL, MCL. Do you think you're going to be back in time for that London game? What's the timeline right now. You know they haven't really put a timeline on it, we're just kind of taking it day by day, week by week. There's just so many variables that you can, go through, you know, in this process. So I'm doing really good right now, we're attacking each process and I'm, I'm attacking each one. And it's been awesome. The progression has been incredible. The training staff here, is one of the best in the country. You know, any team or anyone outside the team? I've just had a really good experience, with with the Vikings training staff. And, Tyler and Matty have been incredible. So these guys have set me up for success, and that's kind of the, the way we're in the path we're going in, but we'll see. Hopefully, hopefully I'm ready. But you never know, all right? You can't rush these things. Just like you can't rush the schedule. You take it one week at a time. But this time of year, we get to, like, look ahead a little bit. Check out all the little quirks that are involved in the schedule. So you have a three game road trip followed by three games at home, including a game against Curko and the Falcons. What do you think that reception is going to be? And I know you probably can't admit it later in the season, but since it's May right now, is it going to be weird to see him in a Falcons jersey? Yeah, it's going to be for sure. Weird to see Kurt go on a Falcons jersey. Obviously he's been in Minnesota for so long, he did some amazing things in this community. And I love Kirk as a quarterback I mean you know you see him throwing out there now just coming off an Achilles. And he's one of those guys that's going to attack this his his rehab as well. And he's going to come back and be one of, you know, he's going to be the same player he was when he got hurt. So, it's going to be obviously a challenge to go up against him, but you know, we're we're in purple now and he's going to be on the other side. So we'll, we'll treat him as as so well, you lost to Kirk, but you gained another JJ. Is that going to be confusing at all to some people, having a JJ McCarthy having a Justin Jefferson. And how do you think that is going to go for the fans and you guys in general as you look forward to the season? Yeah yeah, you know, JJ, Jets, we're just referring to him as Jets now. Okay. So, JJ is the guy, you know, I mean, he's he's been in this facility, obviously just learning, trying to get acclimated and has been a really, you know, just a good dude. He's made a great first impression with all of us in there. And so, you know, he's he seems like a guy that's going to attack this process. He's got a lot to learn, and he's he's got a lot, obviously, to learn about this league and reads and progressions and everything else. So, it's going to be a process for him. But, you know, he seems like the guy that's going to attack that every day. And, you know, we're we're super excited for him. Well TJ we're super excited for the Vikings to see you get back on the field. I'll let you get out of here. Thank you. So much for spending some time with us. I'm sure you have a ton going on today. Maybe you're shooting a haircare commercial I don't know, but good luck with whatever and enjoy the rest of the off season