Caitlin Thielen says husband Adam wants to 'feel valued as a receiver'
Adam Thielen's $19.9 million cap hit in 2023 might make him too expensive for the salary cap-strapped Minnesota Vikings.
According to salary cap analyst Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap, the Vikings are $24.4 million over the cap next season. That means they need to shed money, and high-priced veterans like Thielen are easy targets.
Thielen's wife, Caitlin, has already signaled that they may be on the move with an Instagram post after Sunday's loss to the Giants stating: "And just like that the season and our time here in MN might be at an end. Super proud of your attitude this season and always fighting."
She added more fuel to that conversation Tuesday when she responded to a comment on Instagram. She seemed to suggest that the business side of the equation wouldn't be the driving force in determining where Thielen plays next season.
"Not the business side necessarily! Adam wants opportunities to show what he can do and feel valued as a receiver so we'll support him wherever that may be."
Some people are tossing out the idea that Thielen didn't feel valued this season, but that could be taking his wife's words out of context. And the Minnesota native who has spent his entire career with the Vikings was nothing but grateful when reflecting on his career earlier this week.
"I couldn't be more thankful to have been here for 10 years...so far," Thielen told KFAN radio on Monday. "Like I said, what an amazing organization and locker room and staff that's been put together. I would love to continue being part of that. We'll see what happens."
It would be hard to argue the business side doesn't value the 31-year old receiver after the Vikings handed him a three-year, $44 million extension. But it's that extension that has Thielen scheduled to carry the 13th-largest cap hit among wide receivers in 2023.
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 still 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.
What's more is that the Cousins-to-Thielen connection netted its lowest passer rating since Cousins arrived in Minnesota in 2018, and Thielens' contested catch rate – an area of his game that has historically been remarkably good – plummeted from 66% in 2021 to 21% in 2022.
Those are troubling signs even though Thielen says he can "play at a really high level still."
With the emergence of T.J. Hockenson as a legitimate second option behind Jefferson, and K.J. Osborn having a couple flash games at the end of the season, the Vikings have never been in a better spot to move on from a receiver who will be 32 at the start of next season.
The Vikings would save $6.4 million in cap space by releasing him while being hit with a $13.5 million dead cap hit in 2023.
"Obviously I would love to finish my career here and retire a Minnesota Viking and have my entire career be here. But I also know that this is a business and there's going to have to be some business decisions being made," said Thielen.
