Vikings will reportedly be without Adam Thielen vs. Panthers
By Adam Patrick
The Minnesota Vikings will reportedly be without their top receiver in Week 12.
Heading into the current season, there probably weren’t many who predicted that Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen would be leading the NFL in touchdown catches after the first 11 weeks of the year.
But Thielen and his 11 touchdown receptions are currently tops in the league and he’s got a chance to be the first Vikings player to finish a season as the NFL leader in touchdown catches since Randy Moss did it back in 2003.
Unfortunately, Thielen’s journey to accomplish this feat seems like it’s going to be put on hold for at least a week.
Adam Thielen will reportedly be out for Minnesota Vikings in Week 12
On Monday, Minnesota placed their top receiver on their Reserve/COVID-19 list and the doubts about his status for the team’s game in Week 12 against the Carolina Panthers began to pour in.
The doubts didn’t go away on Wednesday either when Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer was unable to provide any sort of update on Thielen’s chance to play on Sunday.
The odds weren’t looking good for the veteran receiver to suit up in Week 12 and on Friday, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported that Thielen is not expected to be in the lineup for Minnesota when they take on the Panthers this weekend.
This is a tremendous blow to the Vikings and their hopes of getting back on track to make a run at a playoff spot. Minnesota can’t really afford to lose more than one of their remaining six games if they want to earn a spot in the postseason and Thielen sitting out this week isn’t going to help their chances against Carolina.
Without their top receiver on Sunday, the Vikings will need other players to step up and play a bigger part in their passing game. Guys like Justin Jefferson, Irv Smith Jr. (if he plays), and Dalvin Cook will all need to help make up for the absence of Thielen this week.
Cook has been getting a heavy workload during Minnesota’s last four games and with Thielen being out on Sunday, the running back could potentially see even more touches. It will be interesting to see what sort of game plan the Vikings will roll out with now that it appears they will be without their top receiver this week.