The Buffalo Bills are once again facing criticism for an undermanned wide receiver unit. But the latest news coming out of Minnesota could be the answer to head coach Sean McDermott’s problems.
The Minnesota Vikings announced Monday afternoon that they would be releasing 35-year-old wide receiver Adam Thielen per his own request.
“Last week Adam’s representation approached the team and asked if we would be willing to release Adam, expressing his desire to play a bigger role in the remaining weeks of what he has indicated will be his final NFL season,” a Vikings press release read.
Thielen then echoed this sentiment in his own post he shared to his X account. In the post he confirmed that this would be his final season and he would like to retire in Minnesota, but for the time being he is looking for an offense he can make an immediate impact on.
Buffalo Bills Could Use The Help
It was an almost entirely different receiving corps during Sunday afternoon’s win over the Pittsburgh Steelers than Buffalo Bills fans saw in Week 1.
For starters, no one played more snaps than 26-year-old bubble player Tyrell Shavers. Shavers was one of the last players to make the Bills’ opening day 53-man roster; now he plays more than their flagship wideouts.
The receiver with the second most snaps played Sunday wasn’t even on the team until Week 10, and that was Gabe Davis.
Davis played 43 snaps, more than half of all of the offensive plays of the game.
Additionally, the team’s leading wide receiver during a game in which they were only able to throw for 123 yards was Brandin Cooks, who had just joined the team that week.
All of these factors point towards the fact that Buffalo is scrambling to find contributors in the pass game.
Based on the fact that they have already added Cooks, Davis, and Hardman from similar situations, a Thielen signing would not be a shocking headline.
Adam Thielen Can Still Play
Although it has become a stereotype for the Buffalo Bills to sign “washed up” receivers, Adam Thielen can still play. His longtime head coach Kevin O’Connell said his reduced playing time this season was due to “remarkable” injury luck.
“We’ve had pretty remarkable health in that receiving room this year,” O’Connell said. “We were trying to find ways to get him tagged in there on some plays here and there and just we haven’t had a lot of plays as of late.”
During the absence of Minnesota receiver Jordan Addison, Thielen was playing nearly every single offensive snap.
Now without a team, the 12-year veteran has the experience to be able to pick up an NFL offense quickly.
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