Vikings waive Adam Thielen as he seeks more playing time in his final NFL season

Emily Leiker, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Dec 1, 2025

Published in Football

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MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Vikings are waiving veteran wide receiver Adam Thielen following a request by his representation for his release, the team announced Monday morning via a statement from General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah.

Thielen was inactive for the Vikings’ 26-0 loss to the Seahawks in Seattle on Sunday.

Both Adofo-Mensah’s statement and one from Thielen indicate that the 35-year-old intends for this to be his final NFL season, though when each party knew that to be the case is unclear.

“Following discussions through the weekend and out of respect for Adam, we have agreed to give him the opportunity to pursue more playing time elsewhere,” Adofo-Mensah wrote in his statement.

Thielen’s locker at TCO Performance Center in Eagan, complete with a signed Seahawks Cooper Kupp jersey from Sunday’s game, was still intact Monday, but he did not make an appearance during the period the locker room is open to reporters.

Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said during his Monday news conference that he and Thielen had texted earlier in the day.

“He’s one of those players that will always kind of hold a spot in my heart and getting to be part of that first team, such an impactful player to our organization,” O’Connell said.

The Vikings traded a 2026 fifth-round pick and a 2027 fourth-round pick to the Carolina Panthers on Aug. 27 in exchange for Thielen, a conditional 2026 seventh-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick, bringing a former Minnesota State player back to the team where he played the first nine years of his career.

Thielen, in his 12th season, was a stopgap for the Vikings offense early in the season while Jordan Addison served a three-game suspension.

Beyond Addison’s suspension, the Vikings were also dealing with Justin Jefferson having missed most of training camp with a hamstring injury and Jalen Nailor coming off hand surgery.

O’Connell said dialogue at the time of the trade made it clear Thielen’s role would be heavier in the opening three weeks and then depend on the availability of Jefferson, Addison and Nailor throughout the rest of the season.

“I think it got to the point where maybe — and I don’t want to speak for him, but — just the reflection of this possibly being the final sequence of weeks in possibly his career, and I don’t know if that’s an absolute or not, I think he thought it was time to maybe talk about it a little bit," O’Connell said.

Thielen played 115 offensive snaps in the first three weeks of the season but had only two receptions for 26 yards, both against the Falcons in Week 2.

When Addison returned to action, Thielen’s snap count took a significant cut to 12 in Week 4 and 14 in Week 5 while the Vikings were on their two-week international trip.

Since returning stateside, Thielen has only played double-digit snaps in one game.

O’Connell said Thielen did not express frustration about his playing time, but there was dialogue about how to get him involved while acknowledging the strength and health of the rest of the receiver group.

The Vikings are averaging nine fewer plays per game than they did throughout O’Connell’s first three seasons, which factored in, too. They’re averaging 55 plays this year compared to a high of 66 in the 2022 season.

“There was zero negativity to the conversations,” O’Connell said. “It was moreso the competitor in him. He wants to finish this thing off the right way.”

Thielen finishes his 2025 stint with the Vikings with eight catches for 69 yards on 18 targets.

At least one teammate — linebacker Eric Wilson — who spoke during the open locker room period Monday afternoon said he did not know Thielen had been waived.

“As a Minnesota native, putting on this uniform over the years and representing this community both on and off the field has always meant that much more to me,” Thielen wrote in his statement. “This team is in my bones, it’s in my heart and it’s part of my DNA.”

Thielen closed his statement by writing he’ll “be back to retire.”

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