Adam Thielen Appears to Take Swipe at Vikings
Former Minnesota Vikings wide receiver and legend Adam Thielen asked for his release a couple of weeks ago, and right before Week 14, the franchise acquiesced to his request. The Pittsburgh Steelers later claimed Thielen.
Adam Thielen appeared to take a swipe at the Vikings by saying he’s “having fun with football again” in Pittsburgh, sparking plenty of reaction.
Thielen took the field in Pittsburgh last weekend, telling reporters after the game that he had rediscovered his love for football, suggesting the Vikings had taken the fun out of the previous few months.
Weird Shade from Adam Thielen
Just a slight backhanded shot for those keeping score at home.
Thielen Is Having Fun Again — Right after Leaving Minnesota
The Steelers now employ Thielen and are smack dab in the middle of a playoff push.
After his first game in Pittsburgh, he told the media, “It was crazy. It’s been a wild week. I found my love for the game back, just being out there playing the game I love … just thankful to be out there and thrown into a huge game and rivalry.”
And while that is an entirely fair response to a question, Thielen implied that playing for the Vikings this season was not fun. He left a club with a 4-8 record, and that just wasn’t working for him.
He rediscovered his passion on a winning team — not named the Vikings.
Having Fun While Doing Nothing
Pittsburgh delivered a massive road win at Baltimore with its postseason pulse on the line. But Thielen had barely anything to do with it.
Aaron Rodgers threw his way only once, and Thielen snagged it for four yards. One catch, four yards. That’s it. He basically duplicated his Vikings output in Pittsburgh, minus the drops that plagued his Minnesota sequel.
Because Rodgers has a history of force-feeding trusted targets — Randall Cobb and Allen Lazard come to mind — there was chatter that Thielen might see a revival in his first action as a Steeler. That storyline never materialized. At least not yet.
It was the same old story for Thielen per on-the-field production, staring down the final month of his NFL road.
Vikings Did Not Miss a Beat Sans Thielen
Meanwhile, in its first game without Thielen, Minnesota played its best of 2025, if that can be believed.
The Vikings spanked the Commanders in all phases, with quarterback J.J. McCarthy authoring his best showing as a pro, complete with 3 touchdown passes and zero turnovers. The defense also stifled quarterbacks Jayden Daniels and Marcus Mariota in a desperately needed get-right dub.
Although Thielen rarely played on offense for the 2025 Vikings, he was not missed one bit on Sunday, an odd development for a player who brought an injection of excitement via trade at the end of the summer.
A Playoff Push Ahead
After a week of Steelers fans calling for Mike Tomlin’s job — two decades into his tenure — Pittsburgh answered. Almost nobody expected Tomlin to walk into Baltimore and win, but he pulled it off.
According to The Athletic, the Steelers now sit at roughly a 70% playoff probability. Realistically, two more wins should lock them into the bracket. Had they lost to Baltimore, the “Fire Tomlin” calls would’ve reached maximum volume, and the postseason route would’ve been nearly closed.
Pittsburgh finishes with Miami, Detroit, Cleveland, and Baltimore. Drop three of them, and the opening comes right back for the Ravens.
Thielen hasn’t experienced a playoff win in six years — at New Orleans in 2019.
Steelers-Themed Media on Thielen’s First Game
Over at Steelers Depot, Matthew Marczi noted on Thielen’s workload, “One target is not a lot, obviously, but Thielen played a lot of snaps for someone who had just arrived Tuesday. Of course, it’s worth reminding that we’ve had a lot of discussions about why X player doesn’t have a larger role than he currently does.”
“And Adam Thielen may have played a little more because they lost TE Darnell Washington, too. But he also logged more snaps than any other wide receiver than DK Metcalf. Even Calvin Austin III logged 16 snaps for the Steelers compared to Thielen’s 25. Valdes-Scantling also played 16 snaps, and Scotty Miller saw a whopping three.”
Thielen will retire when Pittsburgh’s season concludes.
Marczi continued, “The size of the Steelers’ pie is smaller, but is the size of Adam Thielen’s slice larger than others? This offense is built around feeding Metcalf when and where the Steelers can. Perhaps they think that Thielen can help open things up and discourage teams from doubling him. But what will his stat lines look like?”
“It’s rare that a Steelers wide receiver has had an impressive stat line this season, especially anyone other than Metcalf. And it’s not like Thielen did much in Minnesota this year or is anywhere near his prime. But he’s here and he’s playing, so what and how will he contribute?”
The man is enjoying football once again because he no longer plays for the Vikings. Brutal.
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