Last week Adam Thielen requested his release from the Vikings. Monday, the team granted that request. Thielen believes he has a market to sign with a team contending for the playoffs. It’s his final season and this clearly wasn’t working out in Minnesota. His final tally for the year with the Vikings is 18 targets, 8 catches, 3 drops, for 69 yards in 11 games played. To give him some credit, six of his eight catches were for first downs.
Thielen’s previous spot, the Carolina Panthers, are half a game back of the NFC South lead and are heading into their bye week. That is the spot that is obviously a good fit. They have enjoyed the immediate success of Tetairoa McMillan, but no one else on the team has more than 300 yards receiving.
Looking at the rest of the NFL, it’s not hard to find too many spots. The Bills and Patriots could potentially use another pass catcher. The Jaguars lead the league in drops, something about the spin velocity on Trevor Lawrence’s ball, but they’ve had that issue a lot. However, Thielen has had three drops of his own this season. Kansas City is everyone’s favorite choice for any aging veteran looking for a ring. I don’t see the Steelers contending enough for Thielen’s liking. I kind of like the 49ers a little bit for the fit. Other potential fits are Baltimore, Denver, Houston, and Seattle.
The good news is there isn’t a great fit in the NFC North. Green Bay already has six WR 3s. The Lions offense is too cohesive to add in someone like Thielen. The Bears might actually make sense, but I don’t see him finishing his last year riding the Caleb Williams train.
There are too many teams looking for a WR3 for Thielen not to get a chance. It’ll be interesting if he goes back to the familiar in Carolina or if he goes to a team really contending like the Bills, Chiefs, Patriots, or Rams.
Let us know what you think in the comments below.
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