Not that he’d say anything else, but Lions tight end T.J. Hockenson is focused on winning more than ongoing negotiations for his new contract.
Via the exercising of his fifth-year option, Lions’ tight end T.J. Hockenson is under team control through the 2023 season. But there is the not-so-small matter of a contract extension for him, as the price goes up based on the deal David Njoku got last month.
On Day 1 of Lions’ minicamp on Tuesday, Hockenson was obviously going to be asked about his future contract. His answer was also obvious, with a mention of the deals other tight ends (Mark Andres, Dallas Goedert, Njoku) have gotten lately.
Via 97.1 The Ticket:
"That’s a lot of money,” “That’s life-changing. I’m already in a situation where my life has changed, so really what I want to do is win. That’s really all I care about. Money is one thing, but when it hits the bank account doesn’t really matter to me. I just want to make this place a winning program.”"
As for what his new deal should look like, Hockenson extended his strictly by-the-book answer.
"Honestly, I let my agent deal with that. I’m not very good with the business side of things,” he said with a laugh. “Guys tell me what I should make, what I shouldn’t make, and I’m like, ‘I don’t really care.’ I’m going to play between the white lines, and whatever happens will happen. I don’t really deal much with that. I told my agent, ‘You do your thing, and I’ll do my thing.’"
Joel Corry of CBS Sports obviously mentioned Hockenson among tight ends who will benefit from Njoku’s contract elevating the immediate market for those with better resumes. Hockenson and his agent know what the Njoku deal did for his situation, otherwise an extension may already be done with the Lions. Whatever negative way some Lions’ fans may think of Hockenson, there’s no doubt he’s a better player than Njoku.
The Lions view Hockenson as an important player now and into the future, and he has said (however also obviously) he wants to stay and win in Detroit. It’s still only a matter of time before a deal to keep the 2020 Pro Bowler in the fold for awhile gets done.