Vikings Waive Veteran WR Adam Thielen After He Requested to Move on From Team

Thielen plans to retire from the NFL after this season.

Vikings receiver Adam Thielen requested to move on from the team to finish out his NFL career elsewhere. | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

Vikings receiver Adam Thielen was a healthy scratch on Sunday vs. the Seahawks, and now the reasoning behind that decision makes a bit more sense. On Monday, Minnesota posted a statement revealing that the team has waived the veteran receiver after he requested to move on from the team.

Thielen is playing his final NFL season, and he hopes to join a team that is considered a playoff contender, which Minnesota is not at the moment. The Vikings lost 26–0 to the Seahawks on Sunday to drop to 4–8 on the season.

“Adam’s representation recently 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,” Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said in a statement. “Following discussions this weekend and out of respect for Adam, we have agreed to give him the opportunity to pursue more playing time elsewhere. Adam is one of the all-time great Vikings, and we wish him and his family continued success.”

The #Vikings have waived WR Adam Thielen. pic.twitter.com/ahAft1Wxv6

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) December 1, 2025

Thielen will go through the waiver process since the NFL trade deadline has already come and gone. With five weeks left of the NFL regular season, we’ll see where the receiver ends up to finish out his NFL career.

Thielen released a statement of his own on social media on Monday.

“Since this past spring, I knew this was going to be my last season playing in the National Football League. Given that, the Vikings allowed me the opportunity to go compete elsewhere for the last few weeks of my career,” Thielen wrote. “Minnesota will always be our home and we are incredibly grateful to the Wilf family, Kwesi, KO [Kevin O’Connell], Rob [executive Brzezinski] and everyone in the Vikings organization for bringing us back in August. This organization means the world to us from the top down and this locker room is filled with true professionals. With gratitude and love and I’ll be back to retire!”

#Skol https://t.co/PmpGmts9lr pic.twitter.com/AAZl4B0q6j

— Adam Thielen (@athielen19) December 1, 2025

Thielen spent the first nine years of his career in Minnesota before playing for the Panthers in 2023 and ‘24. He returned to the Vikings ahead of this season. Through 11 games in 2025, Thielen’s caught just eight passes for 69 yards. His days of being a key target in Minnesota have passed.

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