LOS ANGELES – The Minnesota Vikings have decided to hold TJ Hockenson out of Thursday night’s game against the Los Angeles Rams, the team said.

But the Vikings plan to activate him to their 53-man roster on Friday and have him available for their Week 9 game against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday Night Football.

Hockenson hasn’t played since tearing the ACL and MCL in his right knee in a Dec. 24 game against the Detroit Lions. He spent training camp and the entire regular season thus far on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list.

The Vikings opened his 21-day window to resume practice on Oct. 4, a date timed to give them flexibility this week if they decided he wasn’t ready to play. The window expires Friday, at which point the Vikings must activate him or lose him for the season.

Hockenson told reporters last week that he would be ready to play whenever the team activated him.

“It’s healed,” Hockenson said of the knee. “It’s stronger than ever, from tests when I was healthy last year to tests now. It’s strong. Stronger than it’s probably ever been. So now it’s just going out there and playing with the ball. endure distance from where my I am bigger, stronger and faster than ever and now it is ready to go out and play with the ball.”

Hockenson has been a staple of the Vikings’ offense since they acquired him from the Lions at the 2022 trade deadline. From then on, in 25 career games with the team until his injury, Hockenson caught more passes (155) than any tight end in the NFL, for the second-most yards (1,479).

In his absence, the Vikings have relied primarily on backups Johnny Mundt and Josh Oliver, who have each recorded a touchdown reception this season. But coach Kevin O’Connell retooled the offense in Hockenson’s absence, and through seven weeks the Vikings have allowed an average of four goals per game to tight ends — the second-fewest in the NFL.

Entering Thursday night’s game, Mundt and Oliver have combined for 18 receptions for 125 yards this season.