Minnesota Vikings bring back WR Adam Thielen in trade with Carolina Panthers
The Minnesota Vikings are adding a familiar face to their bedraggled wide receiver room, bringing Adam Thielen home in a trade with the Carolina Panthers.
The Vikings sent a 2026 fifth-round pick and 2027 fourth-round pick to the Panthers in exchange for Thielen, a 2026 conditional seventh-round pick and a 2027 fifth-rounder.
"There's so many things about him," head coach Kevin O'Connell said. "It's his energy every day, we felt it yesterday soon as he arrived. It's his love of football, it's his love of his journey, what his journey specifically means to our organization. And I know how much he means to our fans, and I know how much he's going to mean to our football team, even beyond getting to bring back a player in such high regard like Adam, it's bringing back a really good football player."
With Jordan Addison suspended for the first three games and Jalen Nailor dealing with a hand injury, the Vikings needed depth at the position. The Panthers, meanwhile, have a surfeit of young talent at the receiver position, making Thielen expendable.
Thielen's NFL career began when the Vikings signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2014. He broke out in 2016, catching 69 balls for 967 yards and five touchdowns, then had two straight Pro Bowl seasons. Injuries dogged him over the ensuing years, and the Vikings cut him after the 2022 season. The Panthers signed him to a multiyear deal, and he was productive, catching 151 passes for 1,629 yards and nine touchdowns across two seasons.
Thielen, 34, is a native of Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, and played college ball for Minnesota State. Among wide receivers, he's fifth in Vikings history in yards (6,682) and third in catches (534) and touchdowns (55).
Justin Jefferson, arguably the league's top pass catcher, will continue to lead the receiving corps. Where Thielen slots in is yet unclear, though it's likely given Nailor's emergence last year, Thielen's age and the short window before the season starts that he'll play the No. 3 receiver role. Once Addison returns, Thielen will likely be relegated to a depth role, though O'Connell said he feels the position group is extremely flexible.
"Our confidence level in Jalen Nailor, as well as just Jordan Addison might've had one of the best training camps out of anybody on our roster, so when he returns and hits the ground running, I view it as a really good problem to find roles and responsibilities for that room," O'Connell said, "knowing that we're going to be able to not only have depth for the season, but we're going to be able to navigate these first three weeks the right way as well."