![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/USATSI_24400684.jpg\")
Oct 4, 2024; Watford, United Kingdom; Minnesota Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson (87) catches the ball against tight ends coach Brian Angelichio during practice at The Grove. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOct 4, 2024; Watford, United Kingdom; Minnesota Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson (87) catches the ball against tight ends coach Brian Angelichio during practice at The Grove. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
The Minnesota Vikings released their updated injury report<\/a> on Thursday. Several players were upgraded from Wednesday, but two guys seem to be long shots to play in Sunday\u2019s season finale: Aaron Jones and T.J. Hockenson. <\/p>\n Offense Could Be Shorthanded<\/p>\n Both Hockenson and Jones missed practices on Wednesday and Thursday. Hockenson is dealing with a shoulder injury that also cost him last week\u2019s Christmas game against the Detroit Lions, while a hip injury is threatening Jones\u2019 status entering the final game of the campaign. <\/p>\n Jones missed four games early in the season due to a hamstring injury. He has been effective since returning in Week 8. The veteran has rushed for 548 yards this season, finding the endzone twice as a runner and once as a pass-catcher. He has added another 199 receiving yards. <\/p>\n The good news is that backup Jordan Mason, who was limited on Wednesday with an ankle that sidelined him in Week 17, was a full participant on Thursday. If he is available and Jones is out, Mason would draw a significant workload. <\/p>\n Hockenson\u2019s shoulder could cost him his second consecutive game after playing in the first 15 of the season. His numbers show 51 receptions for 438 yards and three touchdowns in what has been a disappointing season for the pricey tight end. Like all pass-catchers, Hockenson\u2019s numbers have suffered from the subpar quarterback play. Expect more snaps for Josh Oliver. <\/p>\n The only other non-participant was Myles Price. The rookie returner left last week\u2019s game early with an ankle injury. <\/p>\n Right tackle Brian O\u2019Neill was limited on Wednesday and Thursday. He sat out on Christmas with a heel injury, and his status for Sunday is uncertain. <\/p>\n J.J. McCarthy Trending Up<\/p>\n Quarterback J.J. McCarthy has already missed seven games this season with a high ankle sprain, a concussion, and now his hand injury. A hairline fracture in his right throwing hand forced him to sit out the second half of the Week 16 game and the entire Week 17 bout against the Lions. <\/p>\n Sunday is his last chance to prove that the performances against the Commanders and Cowboys \u2014 his two best games \u2014 were not a fluke. He returned to practice in a limited fashion on Wednesday and was a full participant on Thursday<\/a>, putting him on track to start against the Packers. <\/p>\n Max Brosmer would log his third start of the season if McCarthy can\u2019t suit up. <\/p>\n Like McCarthy, linebacker Blake Cashman and defensive tackle Levi Drake Rodriguez were upgraded to full participants on Thursday. <\/p>\n Harrison Smith Good to Go<\/p>\n Also anticipated to play is safety Harrison Smith. The all-time great Vikings defender sat out Wednesday\u2019s session for rest purposes. As expected, he was a full participant on Thursday ahead of what could be his final career game. At the age of 36, he\u2019ll once again face the retirement question in the upcoming months. <\/p>\n Smith has appeared in 206 games in his regular-season career and another eight in the postseason. He is coming off one of his most prolific days, as he stole Jared Goff\u2019s Christmas with a sack, an interception, and three defended passes. <\/p>\n Editor\u2019s Note: Information from\u00a0PFF<\/a>,\u00a0Over The Cap<\/a>,\u00a0and\u00a0Sports Reference<\/a>\u00a0helped with this article.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Oct 4, 2024; Watford, United Kingdom; Minnesota Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson (87) catches the ball against tight…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":647328,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2073],"tags":[7,17416,233,259,2529,6,234],"class_list":{"0":"post-647327","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-minnesota-vikings","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-injury-report","10":"tag-minnesota","11":"tag-minnesota-vikings","12":"tag-minnesotavikings","13":"tag-nfl","14":"tag-vikings"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115823853734125673","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/647327","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=647327"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/647327\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/647328"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=647327"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=647327"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=647327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"vikings](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/USATSI_24887898.jpg\")
Dec 1, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings running back Aaron Jones (33) celebrates his touchdown with tight end T.J. Hockenson (87) against the Arizona Cardinals in the fourth quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-Imagn Images<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/USATSI_27819196.jpg\")
Dec 14, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) celebrates after a touchdown during the first half against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/USATSI_27885557.jpg\")
Dec 25, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings safety Harrison Smith (22) is interviewed by Dianna Russini after the game against the Detroit Lions at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images<\/p>\n