EAGAN, Minn. — Minnesota's own — and the man who ranks third on the Vikings receptions leaderboard — is coming home.
The Vikings have executed a trade with the Carolina Panthers to acquire wide receiver Adam Thielen, the team announced Wednesday.
In addition to the receiver's return, Minnesota also will receive a conditional 2026 seventh-round pick and a fifth-round selection in 2027. Carolina is receiving a fifth-round pick in 2026 and a fourth-rounder in 2027.
Thielen, who turned 35 last Friday, will return to the very place his career started as a tryout player in 2013. He of course went on to play nine seasons in Purple (2014-22), during which he established himself as one of the NFL's top receivers.
Thielen started 101 of 135 regular-season games played for the Vikings before joining the Panthers in 2023. He totaled 534 catches for 6,682 yards and 55 touchdowns, averaging 12.5 yards per reception. Thielen surpassed the 1,000-receiving-yard mark in 2017 and 2018, garnering Pro Bowls after each season; in 2020, he scored a career-high 14 TDs.
Thielen currently holds the NFL record for most consecutive games with 100-plus receiving yards to start a season, which he achieved in 2018 with eight straight games. He tabbed his ninth 100-yard outing of the season in Week 11, racking up 125 yards on eight catches against the division-rival Packers, to break the franchise record previously held by Randy Moss. Justin Jefferson recorded 10 100-yard games in 2022 to set a new single-season record.
The Vikings released Thielen following the 2022 campaign, and he signed nine days later with Carolina.
In two seasons with the Panthers, Thielen started all 27 games he played and recorded 151 catches for 1,629 yards and nine touchdowns. He finished the 2023 season with a whopping 103 catches for 1,014 receiving yards and four touchdowns.
Minnesota trading to acquire Thielen occurs with the knowledge Jordan Addison will miss the first three games of the season due to suspension. Jalen Nailor has missed practice time of late with a hand injury, and free agent addition Rondale Moore suffered a season-ending knee injury in the Vikings preseason opener against the Texans.
Thielen also grew his philanthropic efforts during his time with Minnesota, launching Thielen Foundation with his wife Caitlin Thielen and being selected as the 2022 Vikings Community Man of the Year/the team’s nominee for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year.
Beyond his prior knowledge of Head Coach Kevin O'Connell's offensive system (Thielen caught 70 passes for 716 yards and six touchdowns for Minnesota in 2022) and flow with Jefferson, Thielen has spent some time catching footballs from new Vikings starting QB J.J. McCarthy during each of the past two summer breaks.
KSTP's Alec Ausmus caught up with Thielen in July and posted the following video on X.
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