T.J. Hockenson's intense rehabilitation process has been joined by sincere reflection and the realization of just how many people support him for reasons beyond what he can do on a football field.

The dynamic tight end is set to return to game action Sunday for the first time since Dec. 24, 2023, when he suffered a knee injury after recording his 95^th reception of the season.

"Every time you go through something like this or step back from the game of football, and you're kind of forced to, it really brings out a new perspective of the game and of where you are at as a player," Hockenson said. "I obviously just took a step back and realized the situation and the organization I'm in and kind of drew from it that I couldn't be in a better place.

"It just changes your outlook on football and everything in between," he continued. "It's hard to say it was a blessing in disguise, but it's been meaningful for me to learn from that and have these months to prepare for where I'm going and set some goals and do some things that people aren't expecting you to do when you come back from an injury like this. I'm just really excited to be in the spot I'm in and be with [Vikings Head Coach Kevin] O'Connell and this organization."

Hockenson previously was cleared to watch from the sidelines. He processed how Minnesota's game against Detroit in Week 7 was the last time for him to not be in pads.

Now, he'll suit up for Sunday Night Football, thanks to the NFL flexing the Week 9 matchup between the Vikings (5-2) and Colts (4-4) to prime time.

"It's one of those things once the SKOL Chants go and I'm around the crowd actually playing, it's going to mean a lot to me to be back on the football field and be back out there with the boys," Hockenson said. "I'm just really excited. There's a lot of emotions, obviously, that go through nine months of a rigorous injury like this, but to be out here moving and have no pain is absolutely incredible."

Coaches, teammates, members of the Health and Performance team and other football support staff have done their best to encourage what is best for Hockenson's long-term football future.

The goals he's set have evolved over time.

On the first morning after his injury, Hockenson prioritized a grateful heart and joyful celebration of his faith with family. The way he described the day months later, it's clear that initial goal was achieved.

"Christmas Day was definitely an interesting day, an interesting morning," Hockenson said. "I had just found out a few hours earlier I had torn my ACL and was going to be on a long road to recovery. We still made the most of it.

"When you're celebrating Christmas, it's a lot more than you. It's Jesus Christ's birthday. That's something that means a lot to me, my family and our faith," Hockenson added. "It was not just hard. We still made it joyful. We celebrated what we needed to celebrate and didn't make it about me. We made it about what Christmas is and just to be thankful I'm in the spot I'm in and everything He did for us."

Hockenson's Jan. 29, 2024, surgery to repair his ACL was announced as successful, but his grueling path back was only beginning.

As NFL teams prepared for major milestones like free agency and the draft, Hockenson also found himself "on the clock" for June 23.

"I told the P.T.s (physical therapists), as long as I can dance at my wedding, I'm cool, so that was kind of the goal for June 23^rd, to be able to dance and not have any worries. We got us there," Hockenson said. "I married the love of my life, and we had a blast. We were all in Hawaii with my closest friends and family. It just meant a lot to us, kind of a dream wedding and something we had looked forward to and my wife had planned out a lot. I wasn't huge into the planning because of all the stuff I had going on, but my wife did a great job, and it was beautiful."

Hockenson's steps back to the field have been documented with player tracker technology.

Walking, jogging, running, starting, stopping, cutting, jumping (and landing, of course).

Vikings Vice President of Player Health and Performance Tyler Williams and Associate Head Athletic Trainer/Director of Rehabilitation Matt Duhamel were among those monitoring Hockenson's progress without putting excess pressure on him to rush his return.

"They've done nothing but what's good for me and what's good for me as a person," Hockenson said. "They've been incredible. Matty is one of the best. Tyler is one of the best, not only here, but in the league. It's been an incredible process for me."

Hockenson said O'Connell "has been there every single step of the way," he can't say enough good things about Minnesota's Health and Performance staff, and he appreciated check-ins by General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and phone calls from Vikings Owners.

Left foot, right foot, left, right, left.

Right foot, left foot, right, left, right.

If one does that enough, increasing to thousands of yards a day, confidence grows and movements feel natural again, even "stronger than ever."

And perhaps even more appreciative than ever before.

"It's kind of taken away from you, so to be out there and have a ball hitting your hands and able to run up the field, making cuts and feeling good out of cuts is stuff that you don't take for granted," Hockenson said. "Watching film, you get excited about it because I feel good and can see I look solid. It's exciting to get introduced back to the game. When you're going through this process, you have to learn how to walk, how to jog, how to run, so those different types of things, it really means a lot."

O'Connell noted Hockenson has passed each recovery step with flying colors and then some.

"I think T.J. is ready to play, as good as he has really looked since we've gotten him here, and that's saying something considering the impact he made right away in '22 and then the season he was having last year at the time when he got hurt," O'Connell said. "I know he is excited. Everyone is excited to have him back out there. Huge part of our system and offense and organization to have 87 back out there."

Hockenson also refined his mental toughness. He's read multiple books during his recovery, including The Slight Edge, which he and his Hawkeyes teammates read at the guidance of Iowa Head Coach Kirk Ferentz.

It presents a major tenet of continuing to do what is good for you, even if the gains are not immediately visible.

"The book talks about every day, anything you do, is everything you do," Hockenson said. "And so, you know, just kind of learning from that, kind of going back to the baseline of where things started for me, that's just kind of been the goal, and so just ready to continue to get better."

Now he'll work hard to connect with quarterback Sam Darnold, similar to the way Hockenson caught nine passes for 70 yards in his Vikings debut days after Minnesota acquired him in a trade with Detroit (Week 9 of the 2022 season). Hockenson said he's "loved Sam from the start" of Darnold joining the Vikings.

Through watching last year's film, Darnold has noticed Hockenson's ability to separate from defenders in man coverage and find the open spots in zones.

"I think he's just really smart and savvy the way he can get open that way," Darnold said. "I'm just really looking forward to it."

Hockenson has caught 155 passes for 1,479 yards and eight touchdowns on 213 targets since joining the Vikings. He has recorded at least five catches in 19 of the 25 regular-season games he's played for Minnesota.

Vikings Offensive Coordinator Wes Phillips, whose prior work included coaching tight ends, is looking forward to welcoming Hockenson back to the group. He says there are multiple ways Hockenson's abilities and versatility can impact games.

"I think you've seen throughout his career, just the production that he brings and the mismatch that he can create against safeties, linebackers, his ability to win versus match or man coverage, all those things are pretty unique for a tight end who also gives you value in the run game, like he does," Phillips said. "I think he's a complete tight end.

"There were a lot of instances where teams wanted to get smaller against us last year, you know, having 12 personnel (one running back and two tight ends) in there with T.J. and thinking they're going to play nickel, and we had some good success running the football," Phillips added. "He can do all the jobs, and obviously people notice the pass game stuff, but he's a complete tight end, just a really good football player."

Receiver Justin Jefferson also is aware of Hockenson's impact.

"Very excited to see him out here running routes and going against the defense and being part of our offense," Jefferson said. "It's definitely giving me those flashbacks to last year before I got hurt and the year before that. He's definitely a weapon that we love to have and we're glad to have back."

Hockenson made clear that helping the Vikings return to the win column after dropping the past two games is the most important thing to him. The group, he said, understands production by any player is shared success.

"I think we have a locker room full of selfless guys. There's not a selfish guy in there," Hockenson said. "There's not a look-at-me guy. Everybody in there wants to win football games and is so close — we hang out together outside the building, make sure we're talking to each other and are close [beyond football activities]. I think we're all excited about where we can go this year. It's been awesome to watch people succeed in their respective field and speaks volumes about what we've built here."