Vikings already scouting replacements for Adam Thielen

On the same day that they released Adam Thielen, the Minnesota Vikings were reportedly in attendance to watch Odell Beckham Jr. work out on Friday.

As their fans were reacting to the departure of longtime wide receiver Adam Thielen on Friday, the Minnesota Vikings were busy looking to see if Odell Beckham Jr. could become their new No. 2 receiver in 2023.

Beckham held a private workout in Arizona on Friday, and according to CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones, the Vikings were one of a handful of teams in attendance to watch.

Odell Beckham Jr. is very familiar with the Minnesota Vikings

With Minnesota moving on from Thielen on Friday, their attendance at Beckham’s workout is certainly intriguing. The Vikings are now in need of a No. 2 wide receiver behind Justin Jefferson, and assuming they don’t believe K.J. Osborn is the guy for the role, someone like Beckham might be worth targeting this offseason.

If Beckham were to sign with Minnesota this offseason, he wouldn’t exactly be walking into unfamiliar territory.

With both of them being former LSU receivers, Jefferson and Beckham have been friends for multiple years, and the free-agent pass-catcher was also part of the Los Angeles Rams roster that Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell helped lead to a Super Bowl win in 2021 when he was their offensive coordinator.

In addition to his connections to the team, Beckham’s mother, Heather Van Norman, is actually from the state of Minnesota. She grew up in Windom, Minnesota, where she set numerous state records as a track and field star, and she even attended the University of Minnesota for a year before eventually transferring to LSU.

Beckham’s probably going to sign with whatever team is going to pay him the most, but if that ends up being Minnesota, his Mom probably won’t be disappointed with that decision.