{"id":525882,"date":"2026-03-08T02:39:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-08T02:39:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/525882\/"},"modified":"2026-03-08T02:39:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-08T02:39:09","slug":"vikings-to-restructure-t-j-hockensons-contract-save-5-million-in-cap-space-for-2026-sources","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/525882\/","title":{"rendered":"Vikings to restructure T.J. Hockenson\u2019s contract, save $5 million in cap space for 2026: Sources"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img alt=\"T.J. Hockenson, in a gray T-shirt with the Vikings logo in the corner, looks on before a game against the Bengals at U.S. Bank Stadium.\" fetchpriority=\"high\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Hockensonrestructure-scaled-e1772932506569-1024x683.jpg\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"responsive\" class=\"image-next-root\" style=\"border-top-left-radius:0px;border-top-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-left-radius:0px;position:absolute;top:0;left:0;bottom:0;right:0;box-sizing:border-box;padding:0;border:none;margin:auto;display:block;width:0;height:0;min-width:100%;max-width:100%;min-height:100%;max-height:100%;object-fit:cover\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"Article_ImageCaptionCredit__wtmKL article-image-caption-credit Typography_body1__O2cez inherit Typography_base__T6j8f\">T.J. Hockenson played in 15 games for the Vikings last season and caught 51 passes. David Berding \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n<p>The Minnesota Vikings have agreed to a restructured contract with tight end T.J. Hockenson that saves the team more than $5 million in salary-cap space in 2026, per team sources.<\/p>\n<p>The Vikings\u2019 move to restructure the 28-year-old\u2019s contract begins their plans to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7073430\/2026\/02\/27\/vikings-salary-cap-nfl-free-agency\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">shed $43 million<\/a> in cap space over the next few weeks.<\/p>\n<p>Hockenson, running back Aaron Jones and defensive tackle Jonathan Allen are three of several players who could be asked to take a pay cut. Hockenson has a $21.3 million cap number for 2026, the highest among NFL tight ends. Though much of his dip in performance last season can be tied to poor quarterback play and inconsistent offensive line availability, Hockenson hovers closer to the middle tier of tight ends.<\/p>\n<p>Hockenson caught 51 passes for 438 yards and three touchdowns in 15 games in 2025.<\/p>\n<p>This story will be updated.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iNiIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxMCIgdmlld0JveD0iMCAwIDI0IDI0IiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPgo8cGF0aCBkPSJNMjQgMS45NTU1OUwxMC41MjQ3IDIxTDAgMTMuMjczTDEuOTYwMzEgMTAuNTUyTDkuNzY2NDggMTYuMjgzMUwyMS4yODc5IDBMMjQgMS45NTU1OVoiIGZpbGw9IiMwMDAwMDAiPjwvcGF0aD4KPC9zdmc+Cg==\" style=\"width:6px\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"PuzzleEntryPoint_PuzzlesIcon__Po_hP\" 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alt=\"Connections: Sports Edition Logo\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"PuzzleEntryPoint_PuzzlesIcon__Po_hP\" src=\"data:image\/png;base64,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\" alt=\"Connections: Sports Edition Logo\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Mar 8, 2026<\/p>\n<p>Connections: Sports Edition<\/p>\n<p class=\"PuzzleEntryPoint_PuzzlesMobileSubtitle__BhT5j\">Spot the pattern. Connect the terms<\/p>\n<p class=\"PuzzleEntryPoint_PuzzlesDesktopSubtitle__cgpmH\">Find the hidden link between sports terms<\/p>\n<p class=\"PuzzleEntryPoint_PuzzlesButtonText__PsrSe\">Play today&#8217;s puzzle<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"T.J. Hockenson played in 15 games for the Vikings last season and caught 51 passes. David Berding \/&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":525883,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[559],"tags":[64,63,1239,593,85],"class_list":["post-525882","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-minnesota-vikings","tag-nfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/525882","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=525882"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/525882\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/525883"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=525882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=525882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=525882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}