When the 2025 NFL season kicks off, it will mark the third season since Adam Thielen has donned the purple and gold of the Minnesota Vikings. Thielen started his career with the Vikings and quickly made a name for himself, going from an undrafted free agent to a fan favorite and promptly becoming the team’s top option prior to the addition of star Justin Jefferson.
In his prime, Thielen was as reliable a receiver for the Vikings as you’ll find in the NFL, notching back-to-back seasons of 1,200+ yards and being named to two Pro Bowls in 2017 and 2018. Even after adding Jefferson, Thielen gave the team a great complement at the position before moving on to the Carolina Panthers after the 2022 season. Thielen has topped 1,000 yards once in two seasons with Carolina and has caught nine touchdowns, as he winds down his playing career. His 1,014 yards in 2023, his first with the Panthers, made him one of only eight receivers all-time to have a 1,000-yard season at age 33 or older.
Now, entering the final season of his contract and turning 35 before the season starts, Thielen is aware that his days in the NFL are numbered and that he’s been preparing for a change. In a recent interview with Joe Person of The Athletic, Thielen acknowledged that this season could be his final season in the NFL, saying:
It could be, yeah… I told you guys at the end of the season, like every year, you look back and you say what left do I have to give to this game? I talked to my family, and they wanted me to keep playing. So it’ll be the same process. I’m not gonna think about that right now.
Currently, Thielen has no plans to retire, but he is heading into the season as the oldest active receiver in the NFL and on an expiring contract. If he doesn’t land with another team after the 2025 season, that may be where he and his family decide that the end has come. Thielen has been heavily rumored for a reunion with the Vikings in the past, and that could be a destination for him after the end of the season, but only time will tell.
In the meantime, the former Vikings fan-favorite is preparing for his twelfth season in the league and looking at providing a mentorship role for the Panthers’ first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, wide receiver Tetairoa McMillian.
This article originally appeared on Vikings Wire: Adam Thielen ready for whatever comes next in his career as it closes
When the 2025 NFL season kicks off, it will mark the third season since Adam Thielen has donned the purple and gold of the Minnesota Vikings. Thielen started his career with the Vikings and quickly made a name for himself, going from an undrafted free agent to a fan favorite and promptly becoming the team’s top option prior to the addition of star Justin Jefferson.
In his prime, Thielen was as reliable a receiver for the Vikings as you’ll find in the NFL, notching back-to-back seasons of 1,200+ yards and being named to two Pro Bowls in 2017 and 2018. Even after adding Jefferson, Thielen gave the team a great complement at the position before moving on to the Carolina Panthers after the 2022 season. Thielen has topped 1,000 yards once in two seasons with Carolina and has caught nine touchdowns, as he winds down his playing career. His 1,014 yards in 2023, his first with the Panthers, made him one of only eight receivers all-time to have a 1,000-yard season at age 33 or older.
Now, entering the final season of his contract and turning 35 before the season starts, Thielen is aware that his days in the NFL are numbered and that he’s been preparing for a change. In a recent interview with Joe Person of The Athletic, Thielen acknowledged that this season could be his final season in the NFL, saying:
It could be, yeah… I told you guys at the end of the season, like every year, you look back and you say what left do I have to give to this game? I talked to my family, and they wanted me to keep playing. So it’ll be the same process. I’m not gonna think about that right now.
Currently, Thielen has no plans to retire, but he is heading into the season as the oldest active receiver in the NFL and on an expiring contract. If he doesn’t land with another team after the 2025 season, that may be where he and his family decide that the end has come. Thielen has been heavily rumored for a reunion with the Vikings in the past, and that could be a destination for him after the end of the season, but only time will tell.
In the meantime, the former Vikings fan-favorite is preparing for his twelfth season in the league and looking at providing a mentorship role for the Panthers’ first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, wide receiver Tetairoa McMillian.
This article originally appeared on Vikings Wire: Adam Thielen ready for whatever comes next in his career as it closes
