The Vikings Should Go Get Their Guy.
When Adam Thielen left the Minnesota Vikings in March 2023, the team no longer envisioned him as a WR2 worth a $20 million cap hit.
The Vikings Should Go Get Their Guy.
Letting him walk proved unbelievably wise, saving the cash for the remainder of a “competitive rebuild” and forcing the club’s hand to draft Jordan Addison seven weeks later.
However, Thielen chose the Carolina Panthers as his post-Vikings destination — and that just so happened to be the worst team in the NFL from the moment he made the choice to present. Thielen is 34 and doesn’t have much NFL clock left.
So, Minnesota — about 24 hours before the league’s trade deadline — should bring Thielen home for a throwaway late-round draft pick. Thielen is completing a hamstring injury recovery and will be ready to play as soon as this weekend.
Thielen’s name is thick in the trade rumor mill, too. Contending teams seek surehanded veterans who can move the sticks on 3rd Downs and score touchdowns. That’s Adam Thielen to a tee.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter wrote last weekend, “The Steelers have been making calls and checking on any and all available wide receivers before Tuesday’s 4 p.m. ET trade deadline, including the Jets’ Mike Williams and the Panthers’ Adam Thielen, according to league sources.”
The Steelers might’ve already circled Thielen for this would-be Vikings-themed plan, but if Minnesota’s general manager, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, can box out Pittsburgh, Thielen can finish his career where it started. The Panthers have released veteran cornerback Troy Hill because they wanted to “get younger” at the position and traded wide receiver Diontae Johnson to the Baltimore Ravens. Therefore, Thielen is more than gettable.
In fact, if folks wake up Wednesday morning and see Thielen on the Panthers’ roster, it might be a little strange.
The Vikings are 6-2, live in second place inside the NFC North, and have an 83% chance of reaching the postseason, according to oddsmakers. Carolina is nearing mathematic elimination. Adding Thielen for a potential playoff push makes all the sense in the world. For now, Minnesota employs Jalen Nailor at WR3, and he’s played great in spots.
It’s just that Thielen is more dependable and experienced.
The Vikings should script a suddenly prevalent trade arrangement in which they send Carolina a conditional 7th-round draft pick for Thielen. Thielen will turn 35 next summer. No team will surrender mid-round draft capital for him. If he’s attainable for pennies, the Vikings should pay the price, not some outsider like Pittsburgh.
The only problem is he’d have to wear a weird number. QB3 Brett Rypien wears Thielen’s No. 19.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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