Report: Adam Thielen Return Eyed by Panthers; Team 'Does Not Plan' to Release WR

The Carolina Panthers want wide receiver Adam Thielen to return next season, per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, who added that the team has no plans to release the 11-year veteran.

"The Panthers want veteran receiver Adam Thielen back in 2025. He's due more than $6 million in overall payout in the last year of his contract," Fowler began.

"Carolina and Thielen could always renegotiate to find a sweet spot on a new one-year deal or an extension. But my sense is the team does not plan to release Thielen, who does want to be on a winning team."

Thielen, who turns 35 on Aug. 22, is entering the final season of a three-year, $25 million contract. He caught 48 passes for 615 yards and five touchdowns in 10 games this year.

Thielen was productive last year despite missing seven games with a hamstring injury suffered while catching a touchdown in a 36-22 win over the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 3.

When he returned, Thielen's rapport with quarterback Bryce Young didn't go unnoticed. He enjoyed a stretch from Weeks 13 to 17 where he caught 32 passes for 405 yards and four touchdowns.

Thielen helped the second-year quarterback, who was benched earlier in the season after serious struggles in Weeks 1 and 2, rejuvenate his career and firmly plant himself as the team's franchise cornerstone once again after being selected first overall in the 2023 NFL draft.

He's under contract for one more year, so he isn't going anywhere unless he retires. Thielen also made clear that he has more football left in him.

But he's also made it known he wants to stick with Carolina, in part because of Young and the team's progress, per Darin Gantt of Panthers.com.

"I would say I would say that was 95 percent of the reason for wanting to play again," he said. "Because when you're part of something, I always said the reason I came to Carolina in the first place was I wanted to be part of building something. So if that wasn't being built and I didn't see that it was progressing and going in the right direction, it would have been a lot easier to be like, all right, I'm ready to move on and start the next part of my life.

"But when you start to see that progression, I would hate to be part of building and then not be a part of the next step. So hopefully things keep progressing, and I can be a part of the end of the building process."

It appears that will be the case in 2025 by all accounts, and that's a great sign for Young and the Panthers as they look to build off their promising finish to the 2024 season.