NFL trade deadline: T.J. Hockenson heading to Vikings from Lions for draft picks
We have another big move before the 2022 NFL trade deadline.
The Detroit Lions sent tight end T.J. Hockenson to the Minnesota Vikings for a 2023 second-round draft pick and a 2024 third-round pick, the Vikings announced. The Vikings will also get a 2023 fourth-round pick and a 2024 conditional fourth-round pick from the Lions in the trade.
It's a rare interdivisional trade. The last time the Lions sent a player within the division was in 1998 when they traded running back Glyn Milburn to the Green Bay Packers for a draft pick, per ESPN.
The Lions get compensation for a tight end who would have cost the team $9.39 million guaranteed in 2023 and the Vikings get someone who can immediately fill in for the injured Irv Smith Jr., who suffered a high ankle sprain in Week 8. Smith is expected to miss the next 8-10 weeks with the injury, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.
Hockenson, 25, was the Lions' eighth overall selection in the 2019 draft. He was enjoying a solid fourth year with 26 receptions for 395 yards and three touchdowns. The yards and touchdowns ranked fifth and sixth among all tight ends, respectively. For his career, Hockenson has 186 receptions for 2,068 yards and 15 touchdowns in 47 games.
Now he joins a lineup littered with offensive weapons like wideouts Justin Jefferson and Adam Theilen, and running back Dalvin Cook.
