Minnesota Vikings release wide receiver Adam Thielen after 10 seasons with his hometown team

The Minnesota Vikings released local legend and Minnesota State graduate Adam Thielen after ten total seasons with the team.

This came after reports from ESPN on Thursday that the team was considering his release as a “real possibility.”

According to those reports, the team was looking to discuss a restructured deal after his initial contract counted as a nearly $20 million salary cap next season.

Thielen, 32, signed a four-year, $64 million contract extension in April 2019, with the parties agreeing to restructure the deal in 2021 and 2022.

The Vikings are set to save at least $6.4 million in 2023 while taking a $13.6 million dead hit as a result of the two-time Pro Bowler’s release.

During Super Bowl week, Thielen mentioned on The Pat McAfee Show that he and the team were “working” on his contract.

During the Super Bowl, Thielen said that he and the team were working on his contract.

Thielen has over 6,600 career receiving yards and 55 touchdowns with the Vikings.

“It’s kind of interesting,” Thielen said on February 9. “We’re working on a few things because I have a large-cap hit… My contract is fully guaranteed, I think, on March 16.”

The Vikings previously restructured Thielen’s contract to get some cap relief in 2022, but in return, that swelled his 2023 salary cap to $19.97 million.

The veteran receiver, a Minnesota native who began his NFL career as an undrafted free agent who signed with the Vikings, will see his $11.8 million salary fully guaranteed, so it’s more than likely that the team is working on another restructuring.

“I want to retire a Viking,” Thielen said earlier on ESPN’s “First Take.” ‘Will that happen? I don’t know. This is also a business. And I also want to have the opportunity to show that I can play at a high level.

Thielen, 32, caught 70 passes for 716 yards and six touchdowns last season as the complementary possession receiver to All-Star receiver Justin Jefferson.

He is a two-time Pro Bowler who has seen 90 or more targets in six seasons and has career totals of 534 receptions, 6,682 receiving yards and 55 touchdowns.

Thielen has 30 touchdown receptions over the past three seasons, which ranks fifth in the NFL.

The Vikings first signed Thielen to a three-year, $1.485 million contract as an undrafted free agent out of Minnesota State in May 2013, where he played on the practice squad.

Since making his NFL regular season debut in 2014, he has 534 receptions for 6,682 yards and 55 touchdowns in 135 career games (101 starts) for the Vikes. He earned Pro Bowl honors in 2017 and 2018.