Rumors about the Minnesota Vikings potentially reuniting with wide receiver Adam Thielen in the near future by making a trade with the Carolina Panthers have definitely picked up some serious steam in the last few days, especially after the report that was shared by NFL Media's Tom Pelissero on Wednesday.
A few hours after Pelissero's report was shared, Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell was conveniently asked about the Thielen trade rumors by Kay Adams on her "Up & Adams" show. O'Connell did his best not to spill any beans related to Minnesota's potential interest in the former Vikings pass-catcher.
"I love Adam Thielen. Talk about [our] 2022 year. You don't build something from Day 1 the way these guys did and the players did in year one without players like Adam Thielen on the team.
There's a reason why he's not only a Vikings favorite [after] the career [he] had here, but how about the job he's done [in Carolina] with a bunch of young players? I guarantee you that the Panthers are in a good place right now because of all that work Adam Thielen put in.
So, huge fan of Adam Thielen."
Adam Thielen trade rumors won't be going away for the Minnesota Vikings after Kevin O'Connell's comments
O'Connell didn't come out and say, "Yeah, we'd love to trade for Adam Thielen!" But he certainly didn't hide his admiration for the former Minnesota wide receiver.
O'Connell's comments didn't exactly pour cold water on the excitement that some Vikings fans currently have about the possibility of Thielen returning to where his NFL career started, so the rumors about him won't be going away anytime soon.
Whether Minnesota makes a deal to acquire Thielen or not, they need to add a veteran receiver to their roster sooner rather than later.
In the last few weeks, Vikings star wide receiver Justin Jefferson suffered a hamstring injury that kept him sidelined for the majority of training camp, Rondale Moore went down with a season-ending knee injury, Jordan Addison was handed a three-game suspension by the NFL, and Jalen Nailor injured his hand.
It's currently a legitimate possibility that Minnesota could step on the field for Week 1 of the 2025 regular season with Jefferson and Lucky Jackson as the team's No. 1 and No. 2 receivers. No offense to Jackson, but he's not a No. 2 pass-catcher in the NFL, at least not at this point in his career.
Someone like Thielen or another experienced veteran would definitely help lower the stress levels of the Vikings for the first part of the 2025 campaign when Addison is unavailable, especially since the team will already be rolling with a quarterback in J.J. McCarthy who has never started a regular-season game in the NFL.