Vikings place Thielen on reserve/COVID-19 list

Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen Quinn Harris-USA TODAY Sports

Vikings place Pro Bowl WR Adam Thielen on reserve/COVID-19 list

By Zac Wassink | Last updated Nov 23, 2020 5:27 PM ET

The start of Thanksgiving week has been unkind to the Minnesota Vikings.

Less than 24 hours after the Vikings fell to 4-6 on the season via a 31-28 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, they confirmed that they placed Pro Bowl wide receiver Adam Thielen on the reserve/COVID-19 list.

As of late Monday afternoon, it was unknown if Thielen tested positive for the coronavirus or has been deemed a "high-risk close contact" and is isolating away from team activities as a precaution.

Thielen led the Vikings with eight catches, 123 receiving yards and a pair of receiving scores in the losing effort against Dallas. One of his touchdowns will likely go down as a catch-of-the-year candidate:

ADAM THIELEN. UNREAL SKILL. #SKOL

: #DALvsMIN on FOX
: NFL app // Yahoo Sports app: https://t.co/tUoK0wsA9N pic.twitter.com/jDWiMuVAZy
— NFL (@NFL) November 22, 2020

The 30-year-old will begin Monday night as the NFL leader in TD grabs with 11 on the campaign. Thielen is also responsible for team-highs in receptions (49) and targets (76).

A player who is a close contact of an infected individual can be cleared to play if he returns multiple negative COVID-19 tests and reports no symptoms. Minnesota hosts the Carolina Panthers this coming Sunday.

Carolina All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey is expected to miss that contest because of a lingering shoulder issue.

Earlier on Monday, the Baltimore Ravens announced that running backs Mark Ingram and J.K. Dobbins tested positive for the virus just a handful of days before a Thanksgiving night divisional showdown with the unbeaten Pittsburgh Steelers.

Zac Wassink

Zac Wassink is a longtime sports news writer and PFWA member who began his career in 2006 and has had his work featured on Yardbarker, MSN, Yahoo Sports and Bleacher Report. He is also a football and futbol aficionado who is probably yelling about Tottenham Hotspur at the moment and who chanted for Matt Harvey to start the ninth inning of Game 5 of the 2015 World Series at Citi Field. You can find him on X at @ZacWassink

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