T.J. Hockenson offers classy goodbye to Detroit in Instagram post

A few hours after the Detroit Lions traded tight end T.J. Hockenson to the Minnesota Vikings, the young offensive weapon sent off a heartfelt post to Instagram, sharing his appreciation for the city of Detroit and the players and coaches he encountered within the Lions organization.

“Detroit, I can’t tell you how appreciative I am to this city and fan base for accepting me and my family from the start,” Hockenson posted. “All the teammates and coaches that I’ve been w/ here have helped me every step of the way.”

It’s a nice send-off that hopefully means Hockenson holds no ill will toward the organization despite the move. Last week, Hockenson told the Detroit Free Press that while he laughed off any trade rumors thus far, he understood that if anything happened, it was just part of the business of the NFL.

“It is a business and whatever they have to do upstairs they’re going to do,” Hockenson said. “And that doesn’t — there’s no hard feelings about it. There’s no, ‘Hey, I don’t like him personally’ or anything about that. That’s just how it is. So I’m not dumb or naïve in that fact.”

In his Instagram post, Hockenson also expressed his excitement to join the 6-1 Vikings.

“MINNESOTA!!! Man I’m so excited! I can’t wait to be a part of this organization. Been a Midwest kid since Day 1 and can’t wait to be back. LFG!!! #SKOAL [sic]”

You can view the entire Hockenson post here: