Report: Vikings restructure T.J. Hockenson’s contract to free up cap space.

Report: Vikings restructure T.J. Hockenson’s contract to free up cap space.

T.J. Hockenson’s contract was reworked by the Vikings in order to clear cap space, as reported by Dane Mizutani of the Pioneer Press.

According to OverTheCap, the Vikings had the lowest salary cap room in the NFL before making this move, at almost $900,000. According to OTC, a maximum restructure of Hockenson’s deal would save them almost $7.1 million.

Hockenson isn’t getting paid less for this in any way. It’s just another one of those typical reorganizations that defers payment in order to lessen a player’s immediate cap hit. This means that in Hockenson’s situation, his $14 million maximum amount for 2024 will decrease, but he won’t lose any money or even have it postponed.

The Vikings now have extra room in their cap to make changes during the season if they so want. The remaining cap space can then be carried over to the following year.

Hockenson, 27, has a 2028 void year on his contract and is signed through the 2027 season. Prior to sustaining torn ACL and MCL injuries in Week 16, the two-time Pro Bowler had a career-high 960 receiving yards in the previous campaign. He started this season on the Reserve/PUP list while he healed from knee surgery that was performed in January. Although Hockenson can return in Week 5, it might be wiser to wait until after the Vikings’ bye in Week 6.