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Vikings waive Thielen to let WR find bigger role in last season

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  • seifert kevin

    Kevin SeifertDecember 1, 2025, 12:39 PM ET

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      Kevin Seifert is a staff writer covering the Minnesota Vikings and the NFL at ESPN. Kevin has covered the NFL for more than 20 years, joining ESPN in 2008. He was previously a beat reporter for the Minneapolis Star Tribune and the Washington Times. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia.

Eagan, Minn. – The Minnesota Vikings waived receiver Adam Thielen on Monday, a day after he was a healthy scratch in the team’s 26-0 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

The decision ended Thielen’s second and final tenure with the Vikings, his hometown team, for whom he is No. 3 in touchdown catches (55), fourth in receptions (542) and fifth in receiving yards (6,751). He said in a statement posted on social media that he had long ago decided that 2025 would be his final season, and that he hoped to find a new home “to compete somewhere else for the last few weeks of his career.”

Thielen, 35, wrote in his statement, “As a Minnesota native, wearing this uniform over the years and representing this community both on and off the field has meant a lot to me. This team is in my bones. It is in my heart and it is part of my DNA. I will always be a Minnesota Viking.”

According to Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, Thielen’s agent asked the Vikings to release him last week.

The team acquired Thielen on August 27, sending a 2026 fifth-round draft pick and a 2027 fourth-round pick to the Carolina Panthers. The Vikings received Thielen, a conditional 2026 seventh-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick in return.

The deal certainly offers short-term value. In short, it gave the Vikings veteran depth early in the season, while starter Jordan Addison served a three-game suspension. Thielen was highly motivated to return to Minnesota and, as part of trade negotiations, agreed to take a $2 million pay cut for this season, reducing his compensation from approximately $7 million to $5 million.

However, since Addison returned in Week 5, Thielen played only a few snaps per game. The Vikings’ top three receivers – Justin Jefferson, Jalen Naylor and Addison – all remain healthy. In his final game with the team, in Week 12 at the Green Bay Packers, Thielen played only three snaps.

In 11 games this season, Thielen caught eight passes for 69 yards. As part of his statement, Thielen wrote that it was “definitely not what any of us thought it would be.”

Adofo-Mensah said: “Adam is one of the greatest Vikings of all-time, and we wish him and his family continued success.”

Thielen most recently had a 1,000-yard season in 2023 when he had 1,014 yards on 103 receptions for the Panthers. He has 693 catches for 8,380 yards and 64 touchdowns in 12 seasons.

Born in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, Thielen played collegiately at Minnesota State University, Mankato and spent the first nine seasons of his professional career with the Vikings. The team released him after the 2022 season before Jefferson emerged as an All-Pro receiver and decided to make Addison a first-round draft pick in 2023.

Thielen’s 542 receptions with the Vikings are more than any player in team history other than Chris Carter, Randy Moss and Jefferson. Carter and Moss are members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.





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