As had long been expected, Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Jordan Addison has been suspended for the first three games of the 2025 season. He pleaded to a lesser charge related to his DUI incident in Los Angeles in July of 2024, and the baseline suspension from the league for a first-time DUI offense is three games.
Addison will miss games against the Chicago Bears (Week 1), Atlanta Falcons (Week 2), and Cincinnati Bengals (Week 3). The Vikings knew Addison would be unavailable to them early in the season; it was just a matter of getting confirmation, which has now come.
The question now becomes what the wide receiver pecking order will be during Addison's absence. Beyond Justin Jefferson and Jalen Nailor, who has struggled during training camp, proven commodities are scarce.
On an episode of "Purple Daily" earlier this week, after the news of Addison's suspension came down, Phil Mackey and Judd Zulgad of SKOR North took a look at the Vikings' wide receiver depth chart.
The co-hosts are generally unimpressed with what is currently in place behind Jefferson in Addison's absence, with Zulgad generally expecting someone to be brought in for a workout at some point soon.
Mackey then mentioned some available free agent wide receivers, including the now-unavailable Keenan Allen. He effectively shrugged off the best remaining available free agent option, Amari Cooper, before dropping a speculative idea that is starting to garner some new buzz overall.
Buzz for the Minnesota Vikings to pursue Carolina Panthers WR Adam Thielen may have some new teeth
"What I would do quite frankly, Judd, is I would trade for Adam Thielen", Mackey said. "I would make the call...call the Carolina Panthers, he's been a nice little safety blanket for a young quarterback in Bryce Young.
There are rumblings around the league, and around the Thielen camp, that he would love to get back to Minnesota to finish his career. I think the Panthers would be open to it, if they can get draft compensation..."
Citing "rumblings" around the league and around Thielen, Mackey seems to have a little bit of information. He also noted how the Vikings have a bunch of draft picks in 2026, and a "sixth-round pick or later" would be a viable cost to bring Thielen back.
The question is what the Panthers would want in a trade, but they should not expect more than a Day 3 pick for a soon-to-be 35-year-old wide receiver (Aug. 22).
Thielen's release by the Vikings in March of 2023, after head coach Kevin O'Connell's first season, was awkward. Zulgad wondered where the relationship between the two is now and if that may push the Vikings in another direction if they want to trade for a wide receiver.
Thielen spent time working out with J.J. McCarthy this offseason. He also did his part to fuel the hype train for the Vikings' first-year starting quarterback, while further fueling the idea of a reunion with his old team.
Thielen is a Detroit Lakes, Minnesota native and an alum of Minnesota State-Mankato, so there's a deep "he's one of us" sentiment with him for Vikings fans that has never dissipated.
However, Thielen has been a useful player over his two seasons in Carolina. He topped 100 catches and 1,000 yards in 2023, and in line with Bryce Young's surge late last season, he was very productive (40 catches over the final seven games of the season).
Thielen has acknowledged the 2025 season may be his last. So if the Vikings are going to reunite with him, with a chance it's a no-go internally, it's pretty much now or never in the wake of Addison's suspension, and the on-field fit will never look better.