She posted an Instagram story video of Thielen and their 4-year-old daughter Cora, wearing a Twins T-shirt, chanting, “We’re going home! We’re going home!”
Vikings General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah with Panthers receiver Adam Thielen before the game between the teams on Oct. 1, 2023. (Carlos Gonzalez/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Acquiring Thielen gives the Vikings a receiver who knows both the team’s offense and its quarterback. McCarthy has stayed in Minnesota the past two summers, working out with Thielen each year near the receiver’s home in Woodbury. Thielen has praised the young quarterback in interviews, and his familiarity with McCarthy could make him even more of a plug-and-play option for a team that needs immediate help at receiver.
The Vikings set their initial 53-man roster on Tuesday with five receivers: Jefferson, Nailor, Tim Jones and rookies Tai Felton and Myles Price. They signed Jones to the practice squad to make room for Thielen on the active roster.
The Vikings released Thielen after the 2022 season, when the two sides agreed to part ways rather than working out a restructured contract. At that time, Thielen sought a team that would offer him a more prominent role in the offense than he’d have behind Justin Jefferson in Minnesota, and he caught 103 passes for the Panthers in his first year there.
Carolina won just seven games in Thielen’s two years there, starting 1-7 last year while the receiver went to injured reserve with a hamstring injury in Week 3. He caught 40 passes for 506 yards and four touchdowns in seven games after his return, and agreed to a restructured contract that gave him a $2 million salary advance in 2025. The chance to return home, and rejoin his former team following a 14-win season, appealed to Thielen, and the Vikings reached a deal with the Panthers after the sides agreed on draft pick compensation.
Thielen likely won’t play a premier role in the Vikings’ offense once Addison, the receiver the team took in the first round a month after releasing Thielen, returns from his suspension. But he should provide a reliable option for McCarthy, especially in the red zone, where Thielen caught 34 touchdown passes in five years with Kirk Cousins.
