Adam Thielen’s Family Moment Says It All After Vikings Trade

On the morning of Wednesday, August 27, Adam Thielen greeted his family with the long-awaited news.

They’re going home.

After days of negotiations that felt like an agreement may not be reached, the Minnesota Vikings struck a deal with the Carolina Panthers to acquire Thielen in a trade that will reunite the Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, native with the team he spent a decade with before moving to Carolina.

The Thielen family was thrilled, to say the least.

Caitlin, Adam’s wife, shared a video on her Instagram, showing her telling her 4-year-old daughter, Cora, that they were going back to Minnesota.

Cora, wearing a Minnesota Twins shirt, couldn’t hide her smile in reaction to the news.

But when Adam came home is when the fanfare started.

“We’re going home, we’re going home,” Adam chanted with Cora, pointing out the Twins shirt was their good luck charm after days of what Caitlin called a “roller coaster” past few days.

A deal was looking uncertain just 12 hours earlier. The Panthers had released Hunter Renfrow a the 53-man roster deadline, suggesting Thielen would be indisposible for Carolina as a veteran in an otherwise young and talented wide receiver room.

Caitlin also wrote on her on her Instagram story: “Praise the lord. What a roller coaster this past week has been. Adam you are so strong and I know how much this means to you!! Skol.”

The Vikings sent a fifth-round pick and a 2027 fourth-rounder in exchange for Thielen, a conditional seventh-round pick and a 2027 fith-round pick, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

Thielen will slot in as an immediate starter alongside Justin Jefferson for the first three games of the season with Jordan Addison out during suspension. After that, the Vikings offense will have a wealth of weapons for J.J. McCarthy, who has worked out with Thielen the past two summers.

Adam Thielen Praises J.J. McCarthy After Summer Workout

While Thielen has spent the past two seasons in Carolina, his roots remained in Minnesota, where he would often visit during the summer months.

That time lent itself to getting some work with McCarthy.

“He’s got all the things it takes to be a successful player in this league, and kind of the things that we talked about about how I’ve gotten to year thirteen, he’s already got it,”  Thielen said in a July interview with KSTP after working out with McCarthy.

“He’s got consistency, he’s got that mindset. He’s got all the skills to be able to play at a high level. So I’m really excited now, my second summer working with him, to see him get an opportunity, and to see what he does with the opportunity, because I see it. Now, on the field, just his mindset, and all the things that it takes to be to be a great core mechanism League, and I’ve been around a lot of great ones. He has everything you need, so I’m excited to see.”

Vikings Aren’t Done Making Moves

The Thielen news is just the start for the Vikings who accumulated ample draft capital the past week by tradining away Harrison Phillips, Sam Howell and Mekhi Blackmon.

Wide receiver seemed to be the biggest need to address, but after the Blackmon deal to the Indianapolis Colts, cornerback is a concern.

That’s surely by design as the Vikings will peruse the waiver wire on Wednesday and make a potential move, either by signing or trade, in the coming days.