Updated October 11, 1:48 p.m. EDT: running back Aaron Jones Sr. is questionable to return with a knee injury.
The Minnesota Vikings’ injury problems in New Orleans grew in the second quarter, when the team listed running back Aaron Jones Sr. as questionable to return because of a knee injury. Jones had carried 7 times for 28 yards before he was hurt, and Minnesota still led 3-0. The club has not described how the injury happened.
RB Aaron Jones Sr. (knee) is questionable to return.
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) October 11, 2026
Earlier, the Vikings ruled out tight end T.J. Hockenson with a concussion during the first quarter of Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Saints at Caesars Superdome, removing one of Kyler Murray’s most reliable targets barely minutes after kickoff.
The injury hits an offense that was already short-handed. Minnesota came into the afternoon unbeaten at 4-0 but without wide receiver Jordan Addison, who sat with a hamstring problem, and Justin Jefferson was playing through an ankle issue that left him questionable on the final injury report.
How it happened
Hockenson went down on the Vikings’ second offensive snap. He made a catch, was dragged down, and his helmet struck the turf as he landed. He walked off under his own power and was examined in the sideline medical tent before trainers escorted him to the locker room. At 1:22 p.m. EDT the team announced that he had been downgraded to out for the rest of the game.
TE T.J. Hockenson (concussion) has been downgraded to out. https://t.co/EHnJqjp712
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) October 11, 2026
Minnesota has not said how long he could be sidelined. Any player diagnosed with a concussion must clear every step of the league’s concussion protocol, including sign-off from an independent neurological consultant, before he can return to practice or games.
A thin tight end room
With Josh Oliver also unavailable because of injury, the Vikings are down to Gavin Bartholomew and Ben Yurosek at the position, with fullback Max Bredeson able to line up in heavier formations. Both tight ends caught passes on the opening drives, and Murray completed his first 11 throws for 101 yards as Will Reichard’s 40-yard field goal put Minnesota ahead 3-0 midway through the first quarter. Follow every snap in the Vikings-Saints Game Center.
Losing Hockenson for any length of time would cost Minnesota real production. Through four games he had caught 22 passes for 195 yards and one touchdown, and his best afternoon came in Week 4, when he caught all 13 of his targets for 119 yards in the 15-10 win over the Miami Dolphins. His only score of the season was a 16-yard catch in the opening 39-22 win over the Green Bay Packers.
What comes next
The timing offers some relief. The Vikings are off in Week 6, giving Hockenson two weeks before their next game, at home against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, October 25, at 1 p.m. EDT. His progress through the protocol will show up on the team’s first injury report after the bye, and every designation is tracked on the injury report page.
What is not yet known is whether Hockenson has any other injury from the fall, whether Jones will return on Sunday, and whether either will be able to practice when Minnesota returns from its week off.
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