Wide receiver Adam Thielen returns to Vikings in a trade with Panthers

Ben Goessling, Star Tribune on Aug 27, 2025

Published in Football

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MINNEAPOLIS — Adam Thielen is coming back to Minnesota.

The Vikings acquired Thielen in a trade with the Carolina Panthers on Wednesday, reuniting with the Detroit Lakes native and Minnesota State-Mankato product with more touchdown catches than anyone in team history not named Randy Moss or Cris Carter.

In exchange for Thielen, a conditional 2026 seventh-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick, the Vikings will send a 2026 fifth-round pick and 2027 fourth-rounder to Carolina.

The Vikings and Panthers were in talks on a Thielen deal last week but were held up on the draft-pick package because Thielen, 35, was still a key piece for the Panthers.

The Vikings made three trades in the past week, accumulating draft picks along the way. They sent defensive tackle Harrison Phillips to the Jets last Wednesday, dealt quarterback Sam Howell to the Eagles on Sunday and traded cornerback Mekhi Blackmon to the Colts on Monday night. The deals netted them an extra fifth-round pick in 2026 and a sixth-rounder in 2027, while helping them recoup the 2026 sixth-rounder and 2027 seventh-rounder they traded away.

Thielen has a base salary of $6.25 million this season, but the Vikings are planning to restructure his contract, according to a league source with knowledge of the negotiations. They had nearly $30 million in cap space available before the trade.

By bringing back Thielen, the Vikings acquired immediate help for a wide receiver group that will be without Jordan Addison for three games because of an NFL suspension and could start the season without Jalen Nailor because of a hand injury. Justin Jefferson is still on a deliberate recovery from a left hamstring strain.

Thielen’s wife, Caitlin, celebrated the family’s return to Minnesota on social media, writing, “We’re coming home!!! ... What a roller coaster this past week has been.”

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!”

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 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.