Jan 7, 2024; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; A view of the fans in the fourth quarter at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports.
The Carolina Panthers are 1-7, with a 3.6% chance of reaching the postseason, according to DVOA.
Their season has veered off the rails, and with one week before the NFL’s November 5th trade deadline, Carolina could sell assets to prepare for 2025 and beyond.
And if that strategy comes to fruition, beloved former Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen could be traded, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
“Who could be traded? Look at a slew of star receivers. Diontae Johnson of the Carolina Panthers, Adam Thielen, and Mike Williams — all potential trade targets,” Rapoport said on NFL Network airwaves this week. Thielen turned 34 two months ago, and it’s unclear if 2024 is his final campaign or if he’ll return for one more hurrah somewhere in 2025. Stay tuned.
But with the Panthers enduring an awful season — they benched their would-be franchise quarterback for Andy Dalton in September (yes, the guy they drafted first overall 18 months ago) — it may be time to press another reset button, which almost certainly wouldn’t include an aging wideout.
So, where would Thielen land? Hopefully, for his sake, a Super Bowl-contending team. The Kansas City Chiefs might make sense because, Lord knows, they’re contending for a chip. Kansas City just acquired DeAndre Hopkins from the Tennessee Titans, though, perhaps dampening Thielen to Kansas City.
Recently, the Pittsburgh Steelers joined the rumor mill for Thielen. CBS Sports’ Cody Benjamin sized up 10 NFL trades two weeks ago that the world would like to see — including Houston Texans RB Dameon Pierce to the Vikings — and for Thielen, that was Pittsburgh.
“The Steelers have been sniffing around blockbuster wideouts this year, from Davante Adams to Brandon Aiyuk, but there are an abundance of lower-tier alternatives who could be available. Thielen is one, coming off an injury at 34 for the Panthers’ stuck-in-mud rebuild,” Benjamin explained and surmised Thielen could be obtained for a conditional 5th-Rounder.
Benjamin added, “He’s got a much lower ceiling than a playmaker like Adams, but when healthy, he’s remained one of the NFL’s most surehanded possession targets, making him a logical partner for the more explosive George Pickens in Pittsburgh’s otherwise old-school attack.”
Thielen would basically morph into a “rental” for a playoff-contending club.
Then — you knew it was coming — there’s the Vikings angle. Thielen would be virtually guaranteed to accept a trade to his former team, one that just so happens to be 5-2 and showcasing 78.0% postseason odds, per the aforementioned DVOA metric. Minnesota’s current WR3, Jalen Nailor, has played well in spots, but Thielen is more dependable and a better route-runner.
It wouldn’t be weird at all for the Vikings to send a conditional 7th-Round pick to Carolina for a Thielen homecoming.
And per Rapoport, he’s probably heading somewhere within the week.
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.