MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings acquired 13-year veteran wide receiver Adam Thielen, who has the third-most catches in franchise history, in a trade with the Carolina Panthers on Wednesday.
The Vikings sent a 2026 fifth-round draft pick and a 2027 fourth-round pick to the Panthers for Thielen, a conditional 2026 seventh-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick in the deal, which was pending him passing a physical exam.
Thielen, who turned 35 last week, was set to make $8.75 million this season,
of which the Panthers already had paid out $1.75 million. The Vikings, who have ample salary cap space, will assume the remaining $7 million on the contract, unless the two sides agree to adjust it.
Thielen will count $3.4 million in dead money against Carolina's salary cap this year and $3.3 million in 2026. He has been Bryce Young’s favorite target over the last two years, but the Panthers took wide receivers in the first round in each of the last two drafts with Xavier Legette and Tetaiora McMillan. Undrafted rookie Jalen Coker has had a strong training camp, and David Moore gives Young and the Panthers a veteran option.
The Panthers were willing to part with Thielen because they feel strongly about McMillan, Legette and Coker, but it’s possible they’ll look at bringing back veteran Hunter Renfrow for the practice squad and give him more time to heal from a hamstring injury that slowed him last month. Renfrow was waived on Tuesday. He was a Pro Bowl selection in 2021 for the Las Vegas Raiders when he caught a career-high 103 passes for 1,038 yards, but he sat out last season after losing 35 pounds while dealing with a severe case of ulcerative colitis.
The Vikings needed more depth, after losing newcomer Rondale Moore to a season-ending knee injury and rising star Jordan Addison to a three-game suspension to start the season. Two-time All-Pro Justin Jefferson is as good as there is in the league, but he missed three weeks of camp with a hamstring injury. Jalen Nailor, the third option at wide receiver, hurt his hand last week and the Vikings have been vague about his prognosis.
Thielen, a native of Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, who was undrafted out of NCAA Division II program Minnesota State, became one of the NFL's true success stories after nearly giving up on football and taking a job in dental equipment sales.
Thielen parlayed a rookie minicamp tryout into a practice squad spot in 2013 with his home-state team and carved out a special teams role the following season, making his first big impression in 2014 by blocking a punt and returning it for his first career touchdown against, coincidentally, the Panthers. He became a starter by 2016 and made two Pro Bowls, accumulating 534 receptions over nine seasons on the active roster for 6,682 yards, which is fifth in franchise history.
The 35-year-old Thielen still lives in Minnesota and even worked out with new Vikings starting quarterback J.J. McCarthy during throwing sessions each of the last two summers. His wife posted to Instagram a video of Thielen dancing with his daughter in celebration of her dad’s job change.
“We’re going home! We’re going home! We’re going home!” Thielen shouted in the video.
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Reed reported from Charlotte, North Carolina.
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