Report: Detroit Lions trade T.J. Hockenson for couple of picks

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Detroit Lions are trading tight end T.J. Hockneson in the division to the Minnesota Vikings. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero has the trade terms.

Lions get:

• Vikings 2023 second-round pick
• Vikings’ 2024 third-round pick

Vikings get:

• T.J. Hockenson
• Lions 2023 fourth-round pick
• Conditional Lions 2024 fourth-round pick

That value is just around what we saw with Hayden Hurts’ trade in 2020, as Mike Payton outlined in an article last week suggesting this may be the right move for Detroit.

It’s a blockbuster trade for the Lions, seeing as Hockenson was one of their bigger offensive weapons, even though his production this year had been less than we had seen in previous years. Hockenson is only 25 years old and has one more year remaining on his contract—a fifth-year option worth $9.4 million. As we discussed earlier in the week, the Lions will absorb a $1.8 million cap hit but free up around $2 million in cap space. Hockenson will be off the books completely next year.

It may be slightly bit odd to see the Lions trade within the division, but this is the second time they have made a significant trade with the Vikings this year. During the 2022 NFL Draft, the Lions moved up from 32 to 12 in the draft to select wide receiver Jameson Williams.

Hockenson’s Lions career will end with 47 games played, 186 catches for 2,068 yards, and 15 touchdowns.

Upon the completion of this trade, the Lions will have two first-round picks, two second-round picks, and a third-round pick—which means they could be going into the 2023 NFL Draft with five top-100 picks.

Do the Lions have anything else up their sleeve? We’ll see by the 4 p.m. ET deadline.