Vikings players voted tight end T.J. Hockenson this year’s Ed Block Courage Award recipient.
Hockenson returned in the middle of this season after a nine-month rehab to heal two torn ligaments in his right knee. He’s grateful to be healthy this January and in the playoff chase for the second time with the Vikings after being in what he previously called a “dark place” that led to some introspection.
The Ed Block Courage Award Foundation honors players “who exemplify commitments to the principles of sportsmanship and courage.” An annual offseason event to celebrate the league winners is typically held in Baltimore.
“Having my teammates and everybody here vote for me with that award is an honor,” Hockenson said Friday, “and obviously they were there every step of the way and saw what it takes to go through that. It means a lot. A really, really cool award. We’ll go out to Baltimore, me and my wife [Mikala], and do that whole experience, so that’ll be a lot of fun.”
Hockenson has returned to a full-time yet modest role in the Vikings offense. He has 41 catches for 455 yards through 10 games but has yet to catch a touchdown pass. He’s also coming off his third straight loss to his former team, the Lions, and two catches for 9 yards — his fewest since joining the Vikings.
“This league is a humbling experience,” Hockenson said.
Hockenson said he could discuss altering routes with quarterback Sam Darnold, but they’re also trying to simply forget about it.
“That kind of stuff happens,” he said. “It’s a quick game. There’s a lot going on. You can shave your routes different ways, you can do different stuff like that, but I think it’s just go out there and play, keep playing. You can’t really think about stuff like that. You gotta just move on. The more you think about it sometimes the worse it is, you know? You kind of overanalyze and overdo that kind of stuff. You just gotta move on, get back to what we’ve been doing all year, and just move the ball.”