What if the Vikings do not re-sign Patterson and Thielen?
By Adam Patrick
Two of the most talented players on the Minnesota Vikings’ offense could end up signing with another team this offseason.
With the recent announcement that the Minnesota Vikings will be bringing back Pat Shurmur to coach the team’s offense in 2017, there have been a lot of rumblings about how his return will benefit the Vikings’ young wide receivers.
Minnesota’s Stefon Diggs, Adam Thielen, and Cordarrelle Patterson were the team’s top receivers during the 2016 season and each player is 26-years-old or younger. If their progression as pass catchers continues to trend upward, each could end up having themself a successful career as a receiver in the NFL.
But for two of these players, the question is whether or not that career will continue as a member of the Vikings. Both Patterson and Thielen have the opportunity to sign with another team this offseason and it would not be surprising if at least one of them actually did.
For Patterson, he finally seemed to take a step in the right direction as a wide receiver in 2016.
The work he put in during the offseason paid off and led him to being on the field for 50 percent of the offense’s snaps this year. It was quite the jump for Patterson from a season ago when he was only in the huddle for six percent of the offensive play calls.
In addition to blossoming as a receiver in 2016, he also continued to dominate the league as a kick returner. Patterson has already been named to two All-Pro teams in his four year career for his excellence in returning kicks and he is still only 25-years-old.
With the NFL’s salary cap expected to see another big increase this offseason, the young wide receiver could decide to cash in on his potential with another team. He may also just want to sign with a team that is more capable of utilizing his versatility out on the field than the Vikings have been able to during his career.
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The chances of Thielen signing a new deal with Minnesota this offseason seem to be a bit higher than they are with Patterson.
In his third season in the league, the 26-year-old wide receiver had quite the year for the Vikings. In 2016, Thielen led all Minnesota wide receivers in touchdown catches (5), receiving yards (967), yards per catch (14.0), and offensive snap counts (74 percent).
Given the fact that he has spent his entire life playing football for teams in the state of Minnesota, Thielen may just want to continue playing football for the team that he grew up cheering for.
That is not to say that other franchises will not make the receiver any offers to skip town and come play for their team. But since Thielen is a restricted free-agent this offseason, the Vikings can match any contract he is offered by another team and keep the pass catcher in Minnesota.
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The Vikings would likely be able to recover from the departure of one of these two players, especially since current Minnesota wide receiver Laquon Treadwell is expected catch more than one pass in 2017. But if both decided to go and play elsewhere, the Vikings could be left scrambling for receiving help before the start of next season.