The Minnesota Vikings could use some help at wide receiver with Jordan Addison‘s upcoming three-game suspension to start the season — and no name is mentioned more than Minnesota’s very own Adam Thielen.
A deal could make some sense. Thielen is in the final year of a restructured deal with the Carolina Panthers, who have spent first-round picks at receiver the past two years, most recently the No. 8 overall pick on Tetairoa McMillan. Thielen has played his role in Carolina, helping Bryce Young through his first two seasons, and could be eager to return to a contender in his home state.
Meanwhile, in Minnesota, the Vikings have a trade asset emerging, but not for the right reason.
Sam Howell has struggled throughout training camp and is approaching a pivotal proving ground in the Vikings’ preseason opener against the Houston Texans on Saturday, August 9. Howell has ceded second-team reps to Brett Rypien in what was not considered a competition for the QB2 role behind J.J. McCarthy.
FantasyLife’s Thor Nystrom suggested a trade that would see the Vikings land Thielen and a seventh-round pick in exchange for Howell and a sixth-rounder.
“Panthers have 3 intriguing young WR whose development is aided by being on field,” Nystrom replied, explaining his pitch. “This trade gets Thielen to a contender, solves MIN WR3 issue, is a dual-homecoming for Thielen/Howell (UNC), opens up snaps for [Jalen] Coker, and improves Panthers 2026 draft equity at negligible cost.”
Of course, some concerns surfaced in the comments of his pitch on X (formerly Twitter).
“But then who’s the qb2,” a fan wrote.
“I’m not sure its howell either way,” Nystrom replied.
Vikings QB Sam Howell Benched for Brett Rypien
Getty|Former Commanders first-round quarterback Sam Howell has struggled in Vikings training camp.
The smoke was there for Howell, who was acquired in a trade with the Seattle Seahawks to be the presumptive backup to McCarthy, but last week was the spark for a true cause of concern.
During a practice on August 1, Howell was pulled from a series and was forced to sit and watch Rypien lead the second-team offense — a wake-up call from head coach Kevin O’Connell.
“We are not going to be told this by Kevin O’Connell for sure to confirm it, so I can only say that my sense was, at one point, Brett Rypien went in and ran an entire period with the 2’s after Sam Howell threw an absolutely awful interception,” Purple Insider’s Matthew Coller said on August 1. “I could not help but think, that might have been a message to Sam Howell and he stood behind the play with arms folded for the entire period, just standing there watching.
“I think we have reached the time where if Sam Howell doesn’t go into this preseason game and these next couple practices and look really good and snap into it, then they have to start making some phone calls about other quarterbacks to bring in as a backup,” Coller added.
“It is truly going that poorly for Sam Howell.”
Adam Thielen Praises J.J. McCarthy After Offseason Workout
Getty| JJ McCarthy remains the biggest question mark for the Vikings in 2025.
Helping Young develop the past two seasons, Thielen has experience helping a young quarterback grow and could offer the same to McCarthy.
In fact, he already has.
Thielen and McCarthy have met for throwing sessions the past two offseasons, making Thielen’s fit with Minnesota seamless, considering they’ve already developed chemistry.
“He’s got all the things it takes to be a successful player in this league, and kind of the things that we talked about about how I’ve gotten to year thirteen, he’s already got it,” Thielen said in a July interview with KSTP. He’s got consistency, he’s got that mindset. He’s got all the skills to be able to play at a high level. So I’m really excited now, my second summer working with him, to see him get an opportunity, and to see what he does with the opportunity, because I see it. Now, on the field, just his mindset, and all the things that it takes to be to be a great core mechanism League, and I’ve been around a lot of great ones. He has everything you need, so I’m excited to see.”
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