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Vikings receiver Adam Thielen
The Minnesota Vikings organization is under a microscope with the firing of general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, and that has put a spotlight on the trade that brought Adam Thielen back to Minnesota.
The Vikings were thin at wide receiver approaching the 2025 season opener and J.J. McCarthy‘s first career start. Jordan Addison was suspended for three games, and Justin Jefferson and Jalen Nailor were dealing with injuries during training camp.
Thielen seemed like an ideal fit to fill the void at receiver early in the season, but the means of getting him to Minnesota proved costly.
The Vikings gave up what amounted to a fourth-round pick to pry the 35-year-old receiver from a Carolina Panthers team that had bolstered its wide receiver room with multiple first-round picks the past two drafts.
The trade wasn’t fruitful. Thielen caught just eight passes for 69 yards in 11 games and played only a handful of snaps per game coming out of a Week 6 bye before he requested to be released late in the season.
Adofo-Mensah, an analytics-driven general manager, would likely object to giving up a fourth-rounder for that kind of production.
But, according to Purple Insider’s Matthew Coller, the decision was out of his hands — begging the question of who is truly in control of the organization.
Vikings Force Adam Thielen Trade Amid Frustration With Adofo-Mensah: Report
In a January 31 article, Coller revealed that the Vikings’ trade for Thielen was an organizational blunder that was forced after Adofo-Mensah failed to stock the wide receiver room in preparation for Addison’s suspension.
“As the season opener grew nearer and starting QB JJ McCarthy was getting ready for his first career start, the Vikings got desperate. Coaches needed another receiver because the front office hadn’t provided them with enough depth despite being aware of Addison’s suspension,” Coller wrote. “Multiple sources told Purple Insider that executive vice president Rob Brzezinski called Carolina GM Dan Morgan to get the deal over the finish line because they felt Adofo-Mensah hadn’t been aggressive enough. Thus, Thielen became a Viking at the cost of what equated to a fourth-round pick.”
According to Coller, the Thielen trade was a desperate move made by the organization due to internal frustration that was built up after several seasons of eroding trust in Adofo-Mensah to backload the roster through the draft.
Adofo-Mensah had his shortcomings in the draft, specifically his first draft producing only one full-time starter out of 10 picks.
However, he did select Tai Felton in the third round of the 2025 draft and signed Rondale Moore as an upside free-agency add. Moore suffered a season-ending injury in the preseason opener, and having Felton ready to step into a premier role to start the season was a tall task.
The decision ultimately signals the brewing distrust within the organization, which now has a power vacuum of leadership entering pre-draft and free-agency season.
Vikings’ JJ McCarthy Plan in Question After Adofo-Mensah is Fired
There are several perspectives about where the Vikings stand with McCarthy after Adofo-Mensah was fired.
Adofo-Mensah attempted to open a contention window through the 2027 season by building a competitive roster around McCarthy’s affordable rookie-scale deal.
However, a year of development was lost on McCarthy after he tore his meniscus in the 2024 season. Sam Darnold shined that year, and the decision to let him go has come under scrutiny.
But overall, Adofo-Mensah’s greatest blunder was not securing a veteran quarterback to support McCarthy and backstop the organization from a lost season. The Vikings whiffed on signing Daniel Jones and turned Aaron Rodgers away as the McCarthy plan was put into action.
Owner Mark Wilf said this offseason is “critical” to the team, prompting the decision to part ways with Adofo-Mensah.
What that might mean for McCarthy and his position as the team’s starting quarterback entering the offseason remains to be seen.
Trevor Squire is a sports journalist covering the NFL and NBA for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Minnesota Vikings, Minnesota Timberwolves and Milwaukee Bucks. Trevor studied journalism at the University of Minnesota — Twin Cities, making stops at the Star Tribune and the St. Paul Pioneer Press. You can reach him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @trevordsquire. More about Trevor Squire
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