EAGAN, Minn. — Adam Thielen recognized almost everyone in the huddle, except for a couple of newcomers who have joined the Vikings beat in the past two seasons.

Wearing a white-bodied hat with a purple brim backwards, he went around the group with hugs of the regular and bro variety, offering a few handshakes and some fist bumps for the recent additions.

He shared appreciation for the past couple of trips around the sun, the way he was treated in Carolina as a veteran free agent, the personal growth he experienced from being in a new place, and the opportunity to return to the organization where his career began on a tryout basis in 2013.

"There's nothing I can say to tell you how excited I am to be back home, and my family can't wait to get them back here, as they're excited, as well," Thielen said. "I just didn't think that this was even a possibility. I thought the next time I would be talking to [Twin Cities media members] is when I was signing a one-day contract and retiring, so this is pretty surreal. I'm going to take advantage of every second that I'm back in this building. And I've tried to do that from a little bit of a different perspective."

Dreams can come true — again.

I know you're probably aware Thielen dressed up as a Vikings Hall of Fame and Ring of Honor receiver Randy Moss for Halloween. You also know he's gone from costume to elite company.

Through hard work and determination, Thielen climbed Minnesota's receiving leaderboard, becoming just the third player with at least 500 receptions for the franchise. Only Cris Carter (1,004) and Moss (587) have more receptions than Thielen's 534 with the Vikings. But sixth-year pro Justin Jefferson is hot on the trail, entering 2025 with 495 to his credit.

Thielen helped welcome Jefferson to the NFL in 2020 and was able to reconnect with the phenom. He said he explained to his wife Caitlin on Wednesday night that it was like coming back from a different college and picking up right where things left off with a friend.

"It was like, we've never been on a different team, and so obviously, love that guy to death and I have so much respect for him on off the field, and we have such a great relationship," the elder receiver said.

Thielen provided steady leadership during the early days of Carolina's rebuild with 2023 No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young. Thielen recorded 151 catches for 1,629 yards and nine touchdowns in 27 games with the Panthers. He said he appreciated Young's trust in him as a receiving option and credited his character for working through some difficult circumstances.

"I grew a lot individually in my time there. We grew a lot closer as a family, having to do this little adventure on our own," Thielen said. "Our whole time here in Minnesota, we had family, friends, loved ones right here, and so it was our first time in life that we kind of had to do this together as a family. So much growth and a different perspective on life and football and this organization, the city, the state, what it means to us. I'm going to make sure that this emotion doesn't just fade away. It's going to be, hopefully something that lasts my entire time here, just how appreciative I am to be here."

The past two offseasons, when returning to Minnesota, Thielen has had the opportunity to catch passes from Vikings starter J.J. McCarthy, the No. 10 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

"When we were working out, there was no thought of ever actually playing together, which is just crazy," Thielen said. "But at the time, I had so much respect for him, for how he approaches the game, even in the summer months, when you don't really have to do those things, but just his work ethic, his mindset, his communication of how he's doing things.

"Sometimes you get in the habit of just going out there and throwing the football and not really thinking more than that," Thielen added. "I think what's cool about him is he just approached it from, 'This is what I'm thinking. This is kind of the route, and this is why we have this in our system,' and it's similar to what I was doing in Carolina, so it's cool to see that approach, especially from a young guy."

In addition to bringing back Thielen this week, the Vikings also signed veteran quarterback Carson Wentz to their 53-man roster.

Like Thielen, the 32-year-old grew up a Vikings fan after his family moved to North Dakota when he was 3.

Wentz turned 17 during the 2009 season, enjoying the QB play of Brett Favre.

"That was pretty special growing up. That was right around the time I was all-in," said Wentz, who added he enjoyed seeing the pictures and displays of former Vikings displayed throughout Twin Cities Orthopedics Performance Center.

Wentz rose through the ranks at North Dakota State, holding captain honors for two of the school's five consecutive FCS National Championship teams (2014-15). His 20-3 record in college, along with how well he did leading up to the NFL Draft, vaulted him to being selected No. 2 overall by Philadelphia in 2016.

After going 7-9 as a rookie, Wentz had the Eagles at 11-2 in 2017 when he suffered a season-ending knee injury.

After five seasons in Philadelphia, he played for Indianapolis in 2021, for Washington in 2022, the L.A. Rams in 2023 and Kansas City in 2024.

Wentz understandably set aside his initial fandom at every stop. Now, he's excited to help McCarthy and Minnesota — and have a team-issued jersey with logos that match the ones he owned during his youth — and have a quarterbacks coach in Josh McCown, who was his backup with the Eagles in 2019.

"It's one of those things, once you play, who you cheered for before is kind of irrelevant. It goes out the window," Wentz said. "All those things, I guess, are probably rushing back here now this week. Family members and friends and people back in Fargo and Bismarck and all the things, everybody's stoked and excited. All those things are flooding back now, but in the midst of it all, those things kind of get overlooked, so cool and surreal to have those emotions again here, right now."

Dreams can come true — again.

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