Two-time Pro Bowl WR hints that 2025 season will be his last

A longtime NFL wide receiver seems to be approaching 2025 as his final curtain call.

Speaking this week at a team community event, Carolina Panthers receiver Adam Thielen was asked by reporters if next season could be his final one in the NFL. Thielen responded that it may indeed be his last go.

“It could be, yeah,” said Thielen, per Coral Smith of NFL.com. “Every year, you look back and you say, ‘Hey, what left do I have to give to this game?’ I talked to my family, and they wanted me to keep playing. So it will be the same process.

“Not gonna think about that right now,” Thielen continued. “I’m gonna focus on being the best football player I can possibly be, and you have to have that mindset in this league. And then once the season’s over — evaluate, see where we’re at, see where the team’s at, see where I’m at individually and as a family and figure it out. But definitely, definitely winding down my career. But excited about this year and what could happen.”

Thielen, who turns 35 in August, is about to enter his 12th NFL season. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Minnesota Vikings, making two Pro Bowl teams, earning one All-Pro nod, and producing four total seasons with either 1,000 yards receiving or 10 receiving touchdowns. Thielen then went on to sign with the Panthers before the 2023 campaign, turning in a 1,014-yard receiving season that year.

The former undrafted player Thielen slowed down a bit in 2024 with 48 catches for 615 yards and five touchdowns. He also spent a good chunk of the year on injured reserve due to a hamstring injury.

Ultimately, Thielen decided to return to Carolina for one more year, reworking his contract to do so. But with that contract set to expire after the season, Thielen may very well be entering his last dance in the NFL.