Panthers sign wide receiver Adam Thielen

Adam Thielen (Michel Sauret, Wikimedia Commons)

According to John Dillon of Yahoo! Sports on Sunday, the Carolina Panthers signed wide receiver Adam Thielen of Detroit Lakes, Minnesota to a three-year contact worth $25 million. The Panthers are Thielen’s second National Football League franchise following nine seasons with the Minnesota Vikings.

In 2022, Thielen had 70 catches for 716 yards and six touchdown catches. In Thielen’s career, he has 534 catches for 6682 receiving yards and 55 touchdowns.

During back-to-back seasons in 2017 and 2018, Thielen was selected to the Pro Bowl. In 2017, he had 91 catches for 1276 receiving yards and four touchdowns. In 2018, Thielen had 113 catches for 1373 receiving yards and nine touchdowns.

One interesting reason why Thielen ended up being a free agent is because he declined a pay cut with the Vikings earlier in the offseason. This was the second straight season Thielen was asked to take a pay cut. A year ago, he was set to earn $16.8 million, but saw his contract restructured to $14.4 million according to Jeff Wald of FOX Sports. In Thielen’s new contract, $14 million is guaranteed, and is set to make $10 million in 2023.

The Panthers have been extremely busy in the offseason. First they traded wide receiver DJ Moore to the Chicago Bears for a first overall pick. It will now be interesting to compare the statistics of Thielen and Moore this season. The Panthers also signed safety Vonn Bell, tight end Hayden Hurst, running back Miles Sanders and defensive tackle Shy Tuttle in free agency. With Tom Brady retiring, and the Saints and Falcons in retooling mode, the Panthers could contend for the NFC South title. What do you think?

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