Adam Thielen Probably Expected a Little Differently
It was a feel-good story earlier this year when legendary Vikings WR Adam Thielen returned to play for his boyhood favorite team and former employer, the Minnesota Vikings.
The Vikings swung a trade with the Carolina Panthers to reunite Thielen with the organization. The trade is looking quite rough now, and not only because he asked for his release in late November, just three months after coming back home.
Adam Thielen’s Disappointing Vikings Reunion
Per Pro Football Reference, in his time in Minnesota in 2025, Thielen caught only eight passes on 18 targets. It’s obvious that he is far from the receiver that he used to be, but it is difficult to cut a man down at the knees when he is still betting on himself past his athletic prime in the NFL.
Thielen did just that when he asked for his release from his cherished Vikings home, and Minnesota granted him that release when they waived him after their Week 13 butt-kicking courtesy of Sam Darnold’s Seahawks.
Adam Thielen was claimed off waivers by the Pittsburgh Steelers, a turn of events to most fans, given the fact that Thielen himself said he wanted to play for a “contender”. The Steelers are obviously in the mix as they lead the AFC North as we head into the teeth of the playoff push this season, but this wasn’t the team we conjured up for the most part when it came to Thielen’s next (and probably final) ventures.
Did Adam Thielen Get What He Wanted?
In theory, the acquisition of Thielen by the Steelers does make sense. Pittsburgh doesn’t have much behind D.K. Metcalf at the position, as Calvin Austin III is their next leading receiver and is averaging less than 30 yards per game. Thielen didn’t catch on that quickly in his first game with the club, seeing as he had only 1 catch for 4 yards in the Steelers’ victory over the Ravens last Sunday.
It’s hard to ask a 35-year-old receiver to do much more than that when he’s only been in the city for a couple of days, and his possessions are all still probably back in Minnesota. Still, it begs the question: Is this what Adam Thielen wanted? Did he want to join a team that has a real chance to miss the playoffs still, over a team like the Buffalo Bills, who are much more likely to make it and have a much more legitimate shot at a Super Bowl?
Apparently, if you ask Adam, this is what he wanted. But it feels it’s safe to assume that’s just what he’ll say:
“I found my love for the game back, just being out there playing the game I love … just thankful to be out there and thrown into a huge game and rivalry.”
He, in fact, offered those words after his Steelers debut.
You can’t tell a man what he feels, so we’ll just have to take him at his word for now. Adam Thielen will always call Minnesota home, and a run with the Pittsburgh Steelers won’t change that in the same way his stint with the Carolina Panthers didn’t.
Regardless, I’m sure Thielen would’ve liked to go to an even better situation than he did than the questionable Steelers, even if he does get to go play with his buddy Aaron Rodgers. The best of luck to Adam in this phase of his career, but it’s not looking like he will get the true run at a Super Bowl ring that he was looking for.
