Beginning as an unlikely NFL hopeful to becoming a two-time Pro Bowler who played 13 NFL seasons, wide receiver Adam Thielen is calling it a career.
Thielen, whose 2025 campaign ended with the Steelers' loss to the Texans in the Wild Card Round, announced his retirement from football on social media Wednesday.
"What a ride it has been!" the 35-year-old wrote on Instagram. "13 years what a blessing! Have been blessed with so many great relationships and mentors over the years that I am forever grateful for! Thank you to everyone who has supported me through the years it has meant everything to my family and I!"
The writing was on the wall for Thielen, who said he was "winding down" his career last May and was later traded to the Vikings just before the 2025 season in what was set up to be a befitting swan song.
It was in Minnesota where Thielen got his chance as an undrafted free agent in 2013. After spending his first year on the Vikings' practice squad and the next couple of seasons looming on the depth chart, Thielen seized opportunity in 2016 when Stefon Diggs went down with an injury and he showed he was ready for more playing time.
Not before long he grew into one of the most reliable, sure-handed wideouts the NFL had to offer in the late 2010s.
Thielen's breakout season came in 2017 when he generated 91 receptions for 1,276 yards and four touchdowns, which earned him his first Pro Bowl trip, during a 13-win season that saw Minnesota reach the NFC Championship Game. In his follow-up campaign, he proved it to be no fluke, producing a career-best 113 catches for 1,373 yards while also scoring nine TDs.
Following an injury-shortened 2019 campaign, Thielen was back on track, elevating his game as a cerebral route-runner and scoring threat, notching 14- and 10-TD seasons in 2020 and 2021, respectively. During that span, Justin Jefferson arrived in Minnesota and Thielen played an integral role in acclimating the first-round pick into becoming one of the premier WRs in the NFL rather quickly.
For three seasons the Jefferson-Thielen WR duo proved effective, but the Vikings' hands were tied entering 2023, cutting Thielen in a salary-cap decision.
Thielen signed with the Panthers as a free agent in 2023 and went on to produce 103 receptions for 1,014 yards and four TDs in his first season in Carolina. He'd spend another year with the Panthers, but his age-34 season was lost along Carolina's rebuild.
Thielen was traded back to Minnesota ahead of the 2025 season. But a rough start by the Vikings led to Thielen seeking work elsewhere, perhaps knowing it was his final campaign. After the Vikings adhered to his request for a release, Thielen was claimed by the Steelers in early December.
Alongside Aaron Rodgers -- a longtime adversary in Green Bay -- Thielen came up big for Pittsburgh down the stretch, catching three balls for 43 yards against the Ravens in a Week 18 win-and-in playoff scenario for the AFC North crown.
Thielen's quest for an elusive Super Bowl ended in Monday night's crushing loss to the Texans. He produced two receptions for 25 yards in his final NFL appearance.
While his final seasons came and went without any postseason glory, Thielen stands as one of the best examples of a career only beginning after going undrafted. Once an unknown WR out of Minnesota State, Thielen's career ends with 704 receptions for 8,497 yards and 64 touchdowns in 178 games played.
