Adam Thielen Addresses the Naughty Word
Retirement. For Adam Thielen, it’s near.
Adam Thielen Addresses the Naughty Word
Thielen will turn 35 this August, ancient in NFL-speak, especially for a wide receiver. And while Thielen knows the end is near, he doesn’t sound like a man hellbent on walking away this offseason.
“I think there’s probably more times now that you’re like, ‘All right, there’s probably not much more.’ So you know there’s an end in sight, but when that exactly will be is kind of a year-to-year thing,” Thielen told Daily Mail last week.
Thielen tabulated 48 receptions and 615 receiving yards this season, missing seven games due to a hamstring injury. The year before — his first outside the Minnesota Vikings organization — Thielen produced 1,014 receiving yards, his first time crossing the 1,000-yard barrier since 2018.
“I definitely needed those two weeks to just get my energy back and spend quality family time, get away. Yeah, I think I still have some more football in me. We’ll see how that plays out in the next few weeks,” Thielen added.
His team, the Panthers, has momentum heading into the offseason, notching four wins after the start of November, which was a big deal for a franchise starved for wins. Second-year passer Bryce Young seemed to “figure it out,” to an extent, after Carolina benched him for a few weeks in favor of Andy Dalton.
Thielen said about the Panthers’ quasi-upswing: “I think that’s what’s enticed me to want to play again is just the progression, the leadership, the type of things that they’re doing to try to create a winning culture. I really believe in what they’re doing. So there’s a lot to look forward to, especially with (Young) and his progression. And then, you know, just being able to add some pieces and see what happens.”
The Thielen biography is everywhere and beloved. The Minnesotan rose to power late in the 2015 season and clawed his way up Minnesota’s depth chart to WR1 by 2016. Thielen earned instant chemistry with then-QB1 Sam Bradford and took off as a household name in Minnesota and later the country.
An undrafted free agent in 2013, Thielen was “supposed to be” just a special teams guy, but he used the following three seasons to prove legitimacy. He tallied 967 receiving yards in 2016 — while starting 10 games — and truly blossomed as the real deal in 2017, with 91 receptions for 1,276 yards and 4 touchdowns. Thielen and storybook passer Case Keenum created folkloric harmony, and Minnesota damn near won a Super Bowl in a season riddled by injuries — that it had no business even making the playoffs.
Minnesota cut ties with Thielen after the 2022 season, embarking on its competitive rebuild process that involved offloading expensive veteran contracts. Thielen was a casualty.
Thielen is the Vikings third-leading receiver in catches (534), third in receiving touchdowns (55), and fifth in receiving yards (6,682) throughout franchise history.
In theory, if the Panthers cut ties with Thielen this offseason, they’d save roughly $3 million, though his departure is only speculative a month into Carolina’s offseason.
But no matter what, retirement isn’t far away for Thielen — and he knows it.
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.
You must be logged in to post a comment.