Adam Thielen remains constantly linked with trade speculation despite the Carolina Panthers giving him a pay rise this offseason. A new report saw the rumor mill intensify regarding a potential homecoming in what could be his last NFL season before retirement.
The Panthers are expecting Thielen to play an important role once again in 2025, which is the final season of his deal. Hopefully, this will be as a possession receiver over the short-to-intermediate areas after Carolina drafted Tetairoa McMillan, but he remains quarterback Bryce Young's most consistent pass-catcher until further notice.
That said, everyone has a price. And according to Tom Pelissero from the NFL Network, the Minnesota Vikings are looking for another veteran pass-catcher to compensate for Jordan Addison's suspension to begin the campaign.
Adam Thielen trade rumors have intensified, but the Carolina Panthers might not budge
Thielen's name immediately came up, which is no surprise. He is from the region, had the best years of his playing career in Minnesota, and even worked out with J.J. McCarthy during the offseason. Things seem to be aligning, but Ben Goessling from the Minnesota Star Tribune believes his base salary might be more than the Vikings are willing to pay.
"How expensive of a solution do you want to find? This is the thing with Adam Thielen, he has a $6M base salary. Do you want to spend that much on somebody you may only use in that significant of a role for a few weeks... It would be fun... I don't see it, but it would be fun."Ben Goessling via Newsweek
There are ways to work around this. The Panthers could agree to take on some of his salary with a little extra on the compensation front. However, removing Young's best security blanket when there is so much at stake for the signal-caller in 2025 would be a gamble of epic proportions.
Thielen put off retirement this offseason, and there was one big reason. The former undrafted free agent out of Minnesota State wanted to help Young build on his encouraging second half of 2024. It would have to take an offer that general manager Dan Morgan couldn't refuse to consider removing the two-time Pro Bowler from the equation.
The Vikings are looking for McCarthy to hit the ground running after he missed his entire rookie campaign through injury. Losing Addison for three games jeopardizes that, so it's no surprise to see general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah get aggressive in pursuit of rectifying this possible issue.
Perhaps a call will be made to Carolina. Perhaps it won't, but Morgan should think long and hard about trading Thielen if interest arrives.