Panthers vet Adam Thielen rebuffed after volunteering for extra special teams work

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Adam Thielen is the ultimate teammate.

Thielen has put together a strong career in the NFL and once established himself as one of the better wideouts in the league.

The last thing you would expect is for Thielen to want to help out on special teams, especially at this late stage in his career and given the fact he hasn't played significant snaps there since 2016.

However, Thielen recently offered to lend a helping hand as a holder in practice with punter Sam Martin sidelined due to a hamstring injury, according to Joe Person of The Athletic.

But that offer was quickly rebuffed by the Panthers' kickers, Ryan Fitzgerald and Matthew Wright, both of whom questioned if Thielen's weathered hands would be ideal for the role.

“Thielen came up to me during practice, said he held in college with gloves on," head coach Dave Canales said. "So he was kind of asking the kickers, ‘Does it matter if a guy has gloves on? I can do it in a pinch.’ And their response was, ‘We like guys whose hands aren’t beaten up from diving and catching and blocking.’”

We're pretty sure if the soon-to-be 35-year-old can still catch passes in the NFL (he caught 48 balls for 615 yards in 2024), Thielen should be OK with holding, but we digress.

With Martin sidelined and Thielen denied, the Panthers are using backup quarterback Andy Dalton as the temporary holder in practice. Meanwhile, the Panthers are waiting on Martin's return.

The veteran punter, who is replacing Johnny Hekker after he went to Tennessee in free agency, is on the non-football injury list with what Canales called a minor hamstring issue.

As for Thielen, who led the team in receiving yards last season, he could have a big role once again in 2025 as the elder statesman of a Carolina unit that lacks experience overall.