Vikings To Release WR Adam Thielen

MARCH 10: The Vikings are moving forward with this transaction. They will cut Thielen, Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com tweets. Rather than adjust his contract, the 10-year veteran will take his chances on the market. It is not known yet if the Vikings are using the post-June 1 designation.

MARCH 9: Adam Thielen has been with the Vikings since catching on as a tryout body during the 2013 offseason, but the Minnesota native’s time with the team may be nearly up. The Vikings are considering a Thielen release, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.

The 10-year Viking has been in talks with the team about a restructure this offseason, and Schefter notes more discussions are on tap. But a release is a real possibility here. The Vikings could save more than $13MM in cap space by designating Thielen a post-June 1 cut. A standard release would leave the team with $13MM-plus in dead money while only creating $6.4MM in cap space. The Vikings are $15MM over the cap as of Thursday morning.

This would be an interesting development for Thielen, who would be landing in a mediocre wide receiver market were he to be released. Justin Jefferson‘s rapid rise has overshadowed the longtime Viking cog, but Thielen still totaled 70 receptions for 716 yards and six touchdowns last season. Thielen has remained a go-to player in the red zone for Kirk Cousins, having caught 30 touchdown passes since Jefferson’s 2020 arrival.

The Division II product is, however, on the back nine of his career. Thielen will turn 33 in August. He has said he wants to finish his career with his home-state team, but if that proves impossible, a role elsewhere as a complementary target would seemingly be available to him.

Thielen has signed two extensions with the Vikings. His most recent deal — a three-year, $44.7MM re-up — runs through the 2024 season. That contract calls for Thielen to carry the second-largest cap hit on the Vikes’ 2023 payroll ($19.97MM); a March 2022 restructure inflated Thielen’s 2023 cap figure.

The Vikings are preparing for a Jefferson extension. Although the team can table that landmark deal until 2024, as Jefferson can be kept on his rookie deal for two more seasons thanks to the soon-to-be-exercised fifth-year option, GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has openly discussed this extension. Preliminary talks have taken place. The Vikings also have found another solid Jefferson complementary piece in K.J. Osborn, who has reached the 650-yard plateau in each of the past two seasons despite Thielen’s presence as the team’s No. 2 wideout.

With the Vikings before even Stefon Diggs‘ arrival, Thielen has 55 career TD catches — third in team history behind Cris Carter and Randy Moss. Thielen’s 6,682 receiving yards trail only Cris Carter, Moss and Anthony Carter in Vikings annals. Thielen’s 14 TD grabs in 2020 were the most by a Viking since Moss’ franchise-record 17 in 2003.

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