Adam Thielen is staying put. On Friday, the wide receiver agreed to restructure his deal in order to remain with the Vikings, according to a tweet from his agency.
The Vikings entered the offseason with one of the worst cap situations in the league and Thielen was viewed as a potential cap casualty. The two-time Pro Bowler was set to carry a $16.8M cap hit this year. The Vikings could have released him to save $5.7M against $11.1M in dead money, or spread that dead money hit over the next two seasons via the post-June 1 designation. Ultimately, the Vikings wanted to keep the wide receiver — they just needed a little bit of cooperation on his part.
Thielen, 32 in August, registered 67 receptions for 726 yards and 10 touchdowns in just 13 games last year. While it was a solid showing, it was something of a down year by his standards. Between his 2017 and 2018 Pro Bowl campaigns, Thielen averaged upwards of 1,300 yards per slate.
The exact terms of the restructure are not yet known, but it’s possible that Thielen has accepted a reduction in base salary with an opportunity to make that money back via incentives. In any case, he’s staying in Minnesota for 2022, though the same can’t be said for cornerback Mackensie Alexander.
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