The Minnesota Vikings did everything in their power to start the season on the right foot, including a trade with the Carolina Panthers to reunite with Adam Thielen.
Thielen was tapped to replace Jordan Addison for the first three games of the season with Addison serving a suspension. Long-term, the hope was Thielen could provide veteran experience and depth at wide receiver.
However, on Sunday, November 30, Thielen was inactive for a Week 13 matchup against the Seattle Seahawks, his first healthy scratch of the season.
Since the Vikings’ Week 6 bye, Thielen has played just 44 snaps in six games. He’s caught eight of 18 targets this season for 69 yards receiving and has three drops to his name. For comparison, Thielen has dropped three or fewer passes across five of his nine seasons as a full-time starter, per Pro Football Focus.
Thielen’s lack of production and the cost to acquire him in the trade has been a bane to fans all season that hoped to see the longtime franchise icon close his career on a high note.
Sunday’s healthy scratch was the coda to fans’ frustrations amid a 4-7 start to the season.
Vikings Fans React to Adam Thielen Benching After Costly Trade
In August, the Vikings traded conditional fourth- and fifth-round picks to land Thielen. They also received conditional fifth- and seventh-round picks.
“I thought the Adam Thielen trade made sense at the time, even if it was a bit of an overpay. Just hasn’t aged well at all since then. Only 8 catches for Thielen this season, and now he’s a healthy scratch,” Sports Illustrated’s Will Ragatz wrote in a post on X that drew widespread feedback from fans.
“A lot of personnel decisions made sense at the time and haven’t aged well at all. Seems every button pushed this year was the wrong one,” one fan replied.
“He was getting waaay too much love when they brought him back here, dude was a deteriorating 35 yr old WR,” a second fan said.
“I hate seeing Adam Thielen being a healthy scratch. We’re truly at the end of the road,” another fan wrote in an X post.
While Thielen’s lack of production was a surprise, it’s also a symptom of the entire Vikings offense’s struggles this season.
“People complaining about Adam thielen are hilarious. We’re struggling to pass for 150 yards and people are like “our 4th receiver isn’t doing anything!!” one fan wrote previously.
Vikings Rookie WR Tai Felton Hasn’t Found the Field Despite Thielen’s Step Back
A 2025 third-round pick, Tai Felton has not seen the field as much as fans hoped.
Felton has played primarily a special teams role through his first NFL season. Through 11 games, Felton has played 202 special teams snaps and only 18 snaps on offense.
Felton is buried in a deep wide receiver room that has seen Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and Jalen Nailor dominate reps.
However, with Jalen Nailor expected to depart in free agency next season, the Vikings should get a better look at Felton, who has just one target and one catch this season in a blowout win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
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