Is Adam Thielen done in Minnesota? Maybe not. The Minnesota native was on The Pat McAfee Show on Thursday and reiterated that he wants to finish his career with the Vikings.
“It’s a little interesting,” Thielen said when McAfee asked him about his contract situation. “We’re working through some stuff because I got a big cap hit. My contract fully guarantees on March 16. They’re going to try to do something, so we’ll see.”
Thielen’s contract carries a $19.9 million cap hit in 2023 and the Vikings can save $6.4 million if they cut him before June 1, which if were going to happen it would happen before his contract fully guarantees in mid-March.
"I would love to finish my career in Minnesota and I know that I can still play at a high level"@athielen19 #PMSinAZ pic.twitter.com/jNGtvuclkp
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) February 9, 2023
“I’d love to finish my career with Minnesota. I grew up in Minnesota, played my whole career there so far. At the end of the day, I feel like I can still play at a high level. I feel like I prove that every single day,” Thielen said.
Thielen was targeted 107 times this season, which is on par with his average targets (106) over the past seven seasons. That said, he was targeted three or fewer times in six of the final seven regular season games and Kirk Cousins threw to him just four times in the playoff loss to New York.
Despite adequate targets, his yardage dipped a lot this season. Averaging just 42.1 yards per game, it was his lowest output since he was a special teams ace in 2015. And the yardage dip happened even though he was on the field for 756 passing plays, which ranked second in the NFL behind his teammate, Justin Jefferson.
