Adam Thielen continues to be mentioned in rumors about possible receivers the Minnesota Vikings could look to acquire in the near future, and even more steam was added to the rumor mill on Thursday by NFL Media's Tom Pelissero.
During an appearance on the "Rich Eisen Show" on Thursday, Pelissero went out of his way to mention Thielen as a name to keep in mind when talking about the Vikings' current dilemma with their receiver depth.
"There's multiple [receiver] options [for the Vikings], but there's one guy in Carolina right now, Rich, in Adam Thielen, who has produced in this offense, he's played alongside Justin Jefferson, [and] he knows exactly what Kevin O'Connell wants to do.
The Panthers have not wanted to give Thielen away. That's why they didn't trade him before the trade deadline last year.
But keep that name in mind among others as a potential target who might even be out there in the starting lineup for the Vikings come Week 1.”
National NFL Insider stirs up the rumors involving Carolina Panthers WR Adam Thielen and the Minnesota Vikings
One thing needs to be made clear. Pelissero is someone who works for the NFL, so he's not going to say something if there isn't at least some element of truth to it.
Reporters who work for the league tend to usually get a bunch of their info from actual NFL teams, so it's likely that someone from the Vikings shared with him that they are interested in potentially reuniting with Thielen.
During the last few days, it's mostly been people just connecting the dots with Minnesota needing receiver help and Thielen being someone who is familiar with the team and the current offensive system they run.
But with Pelissero now mentioning the veteran Panthers pass-catcher as a possible trade target for the Vikings, the rumors just got a little more believable.
Does this guarantee that Thielen will be back in purple before Minnesota takes the field for its regular-season opener against the Chicago Bears? No, but it definitely increases the chances.