Joe Buck Foolishly Implies Kevin O'Connell Told T.J. Hockenson To Fake An Injury

Joe Buck should choose his words a little more carefully when it comes to assessing injuries on the field.

Buck was on the call Monday night when the Vikings beat the 49ers 22-17 to improve to 3-4 on the year. However, a comment from the famous broadcaster during the second quarter drew more attention than he probably would have liked.

Vikings TE T.J. Hockenson needed some medical attention while limping, and Buck used it as an opportunity to claim he caught Minnesota coach Kevin O'Connell telling him to go down.

The implication was clear. O'Connell was telling Hockenson to milk it.

There's just one really embarrassing issue for Joe Buck. He later had to get back on the mic, and admit Hockenson was legitimately "gimpy" coming off the field.

Joe Buck should have known better.

This right here is a prime example of why you don't really want to speculate on injuries during sporting events.

My first thought when I saw the situation was O'Connell didn't want his star TE putting unnecessary weight onto the field if he was limping.

He told him to get down to take a second to be evaluated. It was the second quarter with a lifetime left. Why would Minnesota, O'Connell or Hockenson have any incentive to fake an injury? Yet, that's what Buck certainly appeared to imply.

Why else would he say, "I'll say this. We just caught Kevin O'Connell on camera saying 'T.J. go down.'"

Aikman even seemed to agree that it could "buy them some time."

Joe Buck walks back claim T.J. Hockenson's injury status. (Photo by Nick Wosika/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Then, it all had to be walked back once it was clear Hockenson was actually a bit shook up for a brief moment. When in doubt, don't say anything and definitely don't imply a coach told a guy to fake an injury. It's a bad look, especially for veterans in the booth. Let me know your reaction at David.Hooksteaad@outkick.com.