The Minnesota Vikings released Adam Thielen, making him a free agent. Given the Chicago Bears' need for a wide receiver, they have to at least consider the possibility of adding Thielen. Would Thielen want to play for a rival and stick it to the team that thought he was not good enough?
Should Chicago Bears sign Adam Thielen?
The money will tell us a lot about whether Thielen is a good signing or not. Still, any team looking into Thielen has to be wary of the potential falloff. The Vikings loved him off of the field and are only making the decision because they think his best days are behind.
That is true, he put up 1,373 yards in 2018, has not come close since, and will not hit that again. Still, he hit 700 yards in the past two seasons, and in 2020 he came back from an injury to post 900 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Adam Thielen will be 33 years old at the start of the season. Most wide receivers start to fall off around age 30, and you saw that with Thielen. Still, he does appear to be a wideout who is aging gracefully.
Because of his route running and understanding, he dropped from that 1,000 yard upside to a 700 yard reliable option. For a team that has questions around most spots, it may not be bad to have one name who is not flashy, but has limited questions as well.
Still, the Chicago Bears have to be wise about how they handle the wideout spot, too. With Chase Claypool and Darnell Mooney they really only have one more starting spot when the team rolls out three wide receivers.
If they add Thielen, that may be their move, and it will limit what they do in other ways. The Chicago Bears should swing higher for more upside. If those bets do not come through, Thielen may be a nice fallback option if his market did not pick up steam.
For now, the Chicago Bears should have their interest, but should not be pushing to sign.