Adam Thielen has barely been retired from the NFL, yet the former Minnesota Vikings wide receiver is already getting asked about returning to the football field next season.
During a recent appearance on the "Ross Tucker Football Podcast," Thielen responded to a question about potentially un-retiring and playing in the NFL again next season if a team called him in need of some receiver help.
"Well, I'll start with this. I'd say I'll never say never. You know, there's definitely a chance that that happens, and I do come back.
I will say that is a very, very, very, very small chance. 0.1 percent chance that actually happens."
Former Minnesota Vikings WR Adam Thielen explains why he's content with NFL retirement
At 35-years-old, Thielen is still physically capable of playing football in 2026, but it doesn't sound like he's interested in that happening.
In his appearance on the "Ross Tucker Football Podcast," the former Vikings pass-catcher explained what unltimately led to his retirement from the NFL and why he's enjoying a life that's a little less exhausting these days.
"How did I know it was time? I just felt like the last few years of my career, I was getting burnt out. I was getting burnt out, not of playing on Sundays, but of OTAs, training camp. The Grind.
I never allowed myself to just kind of ease in through OTA's, ease through training camp, and then turn on this switch and play on Sundays. Like I was on. When I was on, I was on.
If it was OTA practice, it was my speed, my attention to detail, just my effort was the exact same it would be on game day.
And so, I think after doing that for 13 years, and you just get a little burnt out.”
The 2025 campaign was Thielen's last in the league, and it began where his NFL career started: in Minnesota.
Right before the start of the regular season, the Vikings made a trade with the Carolina Panthers to acquire Thielen in exchange for multiple draft picks. Minnesota fans were excited about the reunion with the kid from Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, but his second stint was a big, giant letdown.
Before asking for a release and finishing up the 2025 season with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Thielen only managed to haul in a total of eight passes for 69 yards in 11 appearances with the Vikings.
It wasn't the end to a storybook NFL career that anyone had envisioned for Thielen, but it seems like he's come to peace with how his time in the league concluded.
Add us as a preferred source on Google