After signing with Panthers, Thielen says he 'didn't want to leave Minnesota'

Adam Thielen, fresh off signing a three-year deal with the Carolina Panthers, says he's excited about a new opportunity but in his perfect world he would've finished his career with the Minnesota Vikings. 

"I've never gone through this process before, so the whole process was nuts," Thielen said Monday on The Pat McAfee Show. "I wasn't really planning on going to the Panthers. Went on a visit there just to hear them out because I wanted to go somewhere that I felt like I had an opportunity to win a Super Bowl. When I went there, I sat down with coach, I sat down with the GM ... and I felt like Carolina was the place to do that. I feel like there is a real chance to win a Super Bowl, and that gets me excited."

Thielen said he had talks with the Broncos, Cowboys and "a few" other teams.

"When they added Andy Dalton, that was a huge part to me going there, just knowing that veteran guy who's played a lot of ball can really help groom and lead a team and a young quarterback that'll be coming in. And then Miles Sanders, Hayden Hurst – I know they're talking to a couple other receivers that could really help, " said Thielen.

Thielen played nine seasons with his hometown Vikings, having grown up in Detroit Lakes in west-central Minnesota and then blossomed as a football star at Division-II Minnesota State University in Mankato. 

"I'm a Vikings fan. I was born and raised a Vikings fan. Of course, I didn't want to leave Minnesota and I would've loved to finish my career there," said Thielen, "but I am really excited about a fresh start, a new opportunity and I can't wait to get there."