The Minnesota Vikings are reportedly in the market for a veteran wide receiver. The team’s running mate for Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, will miss the start of the season due to a suspension. The Carolina Panthers may have just the thing to help in the form of a familiar face.
Carolina’s wide receiver room has undergone a transformation in recent years and now boasts a number of talented youngsters who should be given the bulk of the work at wide receiver. This would allow third-year quarterback Bryce Young to establish valuable rapport with possible long-term solutions at the position.
And that means that former Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen could be the perfect trade candidate for Carolina to offer up.
The Panthers should offer Adam Thielen to Minnesota in a trade package
Thielen agreed to a restructured contract with Carolina earlier this offseason, paying him a $1.5 million roster bonus in March and leaving $6.25 million in base salary left to be paid throughout the rest of the season. It makes him a fairly digestible contract to onboard for a team looking to acquire his services. Minnesota is currently listed at OverTheCap as having in excess of $26 million in cap space for the 2025 season.
A reunion between the two sides would take Thielen back to the place in which he got his footing as an NFL receiver. He played the first nine seasons of his NFL career with the Vikings and posted over 500 receptions and nearly 6,700 receiving yards over that stretch before leaving to play in Carolina via free agency in 2023.
A receiver like Thielen, in the later stages of his career, would make some sense for the Vikings given that they’re looking for a bridge to survive until Addison is able to return from his three-game suspension — acquiring him would presumably come at a modest trade value cost. For Carolina, his departure would further open the door for names such as Tetairoa McMillan, Xavier Legette, Jalen Coker, and others to all see incrementally more targets from Young. Given the Panthers are trying to fortify their future outlook on offense, sharing as much time on task with the young nucleus should be the priority anyway.
So, Minnesota, give the Panthers a call. And if the phone does indeed ring, the Panthers should be ready to pick up the phone and play ball on a trade.
