Adam Thielen’s NFL journey has always felt like a Minnesota fairy tale. An undrafted wide receiver out of Minnesota State in 2013, he worked his way from the Vikings practice squad to two Pro Bowls and a spot among the franchise’s all-time leaders in receptions and touchdowns. Now, after two seasons with the Carolina Panthers, that story has come full circle.
On Wednesday, the Vikings announced they’ve acquired Thielen in a trade with the Panthers, bringing the Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, native back to the team where he spent the first decade of his career. The move comes as Minnesota looks to stabilize a receiving corps hit by injuries and suspension, and it gives the franchise one of its most beloved players back in purple and gold.
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For Thielen, 35 — the oldest active receiver in the NFL — it’s a return to the place where he built a legacy. During his first stint in Minnesota from 2013-22, he caught 534 passes for 6,682 yards and 55 touchdowns, ranking in the top five of all three categories in franchise history. His breakout came in 2017 and 2018, when he posted back-to-back 1,200-yard seasons and made two Pro Bowls. In 2018, he tied an NFL record with eight straight 100-yard receiving games.
“We’re going home! We’re going home!” Thielen can be heard saying to his children Wednesday in a video posted to social media.
“WE’RE GOING HOME!”
Adam Thielen is HYPED to be returning to the #Vikings.
🎥: mrs_t_19 via IG pic.twitter.com/Atrk5ET4M3
— VikingzFanPage (@vikingzfanpage) August 27, 2025
At Detroit Lakes High School, about 200 miles northwest of Minneapolis, Thielen excelled in just about everything. He felt he had the talent to play a sport in college, whether in football or basketball, but many recruiters and coaches didn’t see it that way. His lone offer came from Minnesota State University in Mankato, about 80 miles southwest of the Twin Cities, and it was modest: a $500 football scholarship.
“It was the journey. It was the path God wanted me to take. It might not have been my choice, but it was God’s vision for me,” Thielen told CBN in 2018. “He has a plan for us. In that moment, I might have been a little more frustrated, but the more you know the Lord, you know He’s got a reason and a rhyme for everything and you’ve just got to trust it.”
Raised in the Catholic church, Thielen attended a Catholic elementary school and was a regular at Wednesday and Sunday mass. He always believed in God and tried to be the best person he could be, but says he started questioning things in college.
“I didn’t really know where my faith was at. I just kind of tried to be a good person, but I wasn’t necessarily being the best man of God. A couple years into college I just kind of had a moment. I was like, ‘I need to make a change. There’s something missing in my life.’ And that was when I started to go to the team Bible study,” Thielen told Sports Spectrum in 2018.
On the football field, coaches thought he was undersized and not ready for the physical demands of college football, so he redshirted as a freshman and was told to add weight. He did, and by the time his career wrapped up four years later, he had transformed himself into the team’s top receiver and a first-team all-conference pick. Still, it wasn’t enough to draw an invite to the NFL Combine.
So Thielen took matters into his own hands. He paid $200 to attend a regional combine in Chicago, where his performance earned him a ticket to the super regional event in Dallas. There, he ran a 4.45-second 40-yard dash — a time that finally turned heads. The Vikings noticed, and soon after, Thielen was invited to their rookie minicamp.
He realized then that he was able to compete with the best players in the world. From there, it was just waiting for his opportunity.
“I think it’s something the Lord has put on my plate — being patient,” he told CBN. “That was the hardest thing as a rookie, as a practice-squad guy, just to be patient. I felt like I could play, but looking back at it, I wasn’t ready. In the moment I thought I was, but I wasn’t. There was a plan for me, and I kind of was just able to stick with it and good things happened.”
He eventually became one of the league’s best and most durable receivers for a stretch of several years. After making the roster in 2014, he played every game all the way through 2018.
“Going back to early in my career, I knew that when you do get an opportunity, you really have to make the most of it because that’s your chance to get more opportunity in the future,” Thielen told Sports Spectrum. “Throughout my career that’s how it’s happened — you make a play, the next week you get more opportunities; you make more plays, you get more opportunities that following week. So I just continue to try to get better and continue to try to make sure that when there is an opportunity, I’m ready to make a play.”
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After being released by the Vikings in 2023, Thielen signed with Carolina, where he quickly became rookie quarterback Bryce Young’s most reliable target. He posted 103 catches for 1,014 yards and four touchdowns in 2023, then followed with 615 yards and five touchdowns in an injury-shortened 2024 campaign.
Now, with 685 career receptions, 8,311 yards and 64 touchdowns to his name, Thielen returns home to add veteran leadership and steady hands to a Vikings offense that leans heavily on star receiver Justin Jefferson and quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who will be playing his first NFL season after missing 2024 due to a knee injury.
Thielen told CBN that the trajectory of his life changed in college not just for football purposes, but also for his faith in God.
“You can’t do it on your own. When I was going through my early college days, I felt something missing,” he said. “But ever since I gave my life to the Lord, I’ve been able to fill that hole. It’s an everyday battle, but there’s just a sense of peace and something that makes you feel whole.”
Thielen and the Vikings kick off their regular season Sept. 8 in Chicago at 8:15 p.m. ET on “Monday Night Football.”
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