CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Fresh off his best game as a Carolina Panther, Adam Thielen is rolling right into one he admits feels a “little bit weird.”
That will happen when someone grows up in Minnesota, plays college football there, spends nine seasons with the Minnesota Vikings — then signs with a team in the Carolinas. Some habits are hard to break.
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So when Thielen was asked about facing his longtime team Sunday at Bank of America Stadium, he had to catch himself with his use of first-person pronouns.
“It’s already been a little bit weird starting the game plan, talking about the defense and then seeing them on tape,” Thielen said Wednesday. “I’ve never game planned for our defense — or the Vikings’ defense, I should say.”
Excuse Thielen for the slip-up. More than just playing for the Vikings, the veteran wide receiver became something of a legend in his native state for his leadership, philanthropy and his cool Cinderella story — call it the Undrafted Free Agent That Could.
Thielen’s impact on the Vikings’ franchise was such that the team published a 927-word ode to Thielen — complete with 31 photos of him in uniform and statements from the coach, general manager and owners — after releasing him.
Given his ties to the state and the organization, Thielen’s release was a bit jarring, especially to his three young children.
“I think they were a little confused,” Thielen said. “They grew up Vikings’ fans. They grew up every single day going to the facility. We’d drive by the facility, they (say), ‘Oh, there’s the Vikings’ stadium.’”
When the Vikings decided to move on from Thielen after a season in which he was slowed by injuries, Frank Reich was interested. The Panthers’ first-year coach needed a proven receiver to replace DJ Moore, who was sent to Chicago in the trade for the No. 1 pick.
But the Panthers also needed an experienced leader for a young receiving corps that was in flux after the Moore trade. It took Reich about 30 seconds to realize Thielen was that guy.
“If you just meet with him, you’re signing him. You’re gonna pay him whatever he wants if you’re just talking to him because he is brilliant smart, he’s a great leader and he’s a great player. And he’s still playing at a very high level,” Reich said.
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The only real question the Panthers had was whether Thielen could still get open at 33 like he did in his 20s. Thielen’s receiving numbers were on the decline his last three seasons in Minnesota. But it wasn’t like he had fallen off a cliff production-wise. Even during a 2022 season in which he played through a couple of injuries, Thielen still finished with 70 receptions for 716 yards and six touchdowns.
“In this league, production speaks. And he’s posted the numbers, and they’ve been consistent numbers for a long time,” Reich said. “We’ve all seen it and watched it and played against it with him. So he walks in the door and this guy has instantaneous respect and credibility.”
Still, it was natural for NFL observers to question how much Thielen had left in the tank. His teammates also were curious, at least until he showed up in the spring.
“I saw early on during OTAs that he still had a lot left in him. He is (33) but he runs routes and gets open like he’s young still,” said practice squad wideout Derek Wright, who’s close with Thielen. “That might be something that he also knows, maybe it’s a little chip on his shoulder. … But I think that last week for sure he showed that he still has it.”
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After a quiet start in his first two games with Carolina, Thielen turned back the clock last week in Seattle with 11 catches for 145 yards and a touchdown. The 11 receptions were the most in the league in Week 3 and Thielen’s yardage total was the fourth highest in his career. He also helped pull the Panthers’ downfield passing attack off the endangered list with three catches of 20 yards or longer.
Not bad for an old guy.
“I don’t want to put too much on one game because I’ve been there before, right?” Thielen said. “You have a good game, feel confident and then this game will humble you quickly.”
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While Thielen may not be as fast as he was after joining the Vikings as an undrafted free agent from Minnesota State, he’s made up for it by being a wizard with his route running.
“Once we got to camp he was just so efficient with all his breaks in and out, making your feet stop (while) knowing what he’s looking at. So it made you play a little bit faster than what you wanted to,” safety Sam Franklin said. “He finds good ways to get open. He understands the game in and out. So it wasn’t so much that he was losing a step. It was more so he’s just beating you with efficiency.”
While Thielen ranks in the middle of the pack with an average separation of 2.9 yards, according to NFL Next Gen Stats, he’s in the top 10 in the NFC in receptions (20) and receiving yards (211). He’s tied for the league’s 15th-best catch percentage at 80.0.
“I don’t see him dropping too many passes. Even when you’re on his back, he’s still catching it with grown-man catches,” Franklin said. “So you’ve gotta play him through the whole down and hope the quarterback doesn’t throw it his way.”
Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins said Thielen has a lot of football left in him.
“We’ve gotta contain him,” Cousins told Minnesota reporters. “I’ll always be pulling for him, but on Sunday, obviously, we’ll have different interests for the first time in about six years.”
Sunday’s game might feature a pair of 0-3 teams but it will be special for Thielen, despite his best efforts to downplay it. You don’t just erase nine years, 138 games and 534 receptions (third in team history) from the memory banks.
Steve Smith vowed to spill “blood and guts” on the field in his first game against the Panthers after they released him. Thielen spoke in more measured tones when asked whether he wanted to stick it to his former employer.
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“Is there a little bit (of that)? Yeah, maybe. But I’m not the type of person to hold grudges,” he said. “It just is what it is. I’m happy where I’m at. I can’t look at the past. I’m just focusing on the now. There’s a lot of emotions. We’re emotional beings. You’re gonna have emotions.”
The Thielens haven’t forgotten where they came from. When 7-year-old Asher Thielen scored a touchdown in his flag football game last weekend, he celebrated by doing the Griddy, like Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson.
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But Thielen said his wife and three kids are thriving in their new home. Dad, too.
“I’ve kind of felt like a rookie again,” he said. “It gave me the opportunity to have to go out there and prove it every single day because these people don’t know in this organization — the players — they don’t know what I can do. They don’t know who I am as a person or a player.”
They know now. And they’re glad to have him.
(Top photo of Adam Thielen: Grant Halverson / Getty Images)
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