The Minnesota Vikings are waiving Adam Thielen just three months after trading two draft picks for the fan-favorite wide receiver.

The team announced the move on Monday, saying Thielen's team asked for his release because of "his desire to play a bigger role in the remaining weeks of what he has indicated will be his final NFL season."

"Adam is one of the all-time great Vikings, and we wish him and his family continued success," general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said in a statement.

The Vikings sent a fourth- and fifth-round pick to the Carolina Panthers in late August in exchange for Thielen, a 2026 conditional seventh-round pick and a 2027 fifth-rounder. As a depth option on a historically inept offense, Thielen has managed just eight catches for 69 yards.

In the 11 games he played, he went catchless in six. Thielen was a healthy scratch for Sunday's shutout loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

On social media, Thielen said the situation is "certainly not how any of us imagined this to go."

"As a Minnesota native, putting on this uniform over the years and representing this community both on and off the field has always meant that much more to me," Thielen said. "This team is in my bones, it's in my heart and it's part of my DNA. I will always be a Minnesota Viking."

Thielen said he intends to retire as a Vikings when the time comes.

Thielen, 34, is a native of Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, and played college ball for Minnesota State. The Vikings signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2014 and he spent the next nine years with the team before they cut him and he joined the Panthers.

Thielen is fifth in Vikings history in receiving yards (6,751), third in touchdowns (55) and fourth in catches (542).

The Vikings' offense has been sputtering all season behind a rotating cast of quarterbacks, including first-year starter J.J. McCarthy, veteran backup Carson Wentz and undrafted rookie Max Brosmer. Their 26-0 loss to the Seahawks was the team's first shutout since 2007.