Veteran wide receiver Adam Thielen has asked to be released from his second stint with the Minnesota Vikings in order to see out his playing career with more time on the field.

The Vikings fan favourite has started only four of 11 games since returning to Minnesota from Carolina, and has just eight receptions from 18 targets, culminating in a paltry 69 yards and the high of a two-point conversion catch in Week 1. He was inactive for Sunday’s game in Seattle and, with Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and Jalen Nailor also on the roster, understands that his share is unlikely to rise between now and the end of the season which, with the Vikings at 4-8, is unlikely to be longer than five games. Thielen has already intimated that 2025 will be his last as an active NFL player and hopes that his early release will see him picked up by another team in order to go out on a happier note.

“Last week, Adam’s representation approached the team and asked if we would be willing to release Adam, expressing his desire to play a bigger role in the remaining weeks of what he has indicated will be his final NFL season,” Minnesota GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah confirmed in a statement. “Following discussions through the weekend, and out of respect for Adam, we have agreed to give him the opportunity to pursue more playing time elsewhere. Adam is one of the all-time great Vikings, and we wish him and his family continued success.”

With the trade deadline long since passed, Thielen will have to navigate the waiver system before joining another team — and admitted that it had been a tough decision to leave.

“Vikings Family — Thank you,” he wrote on social media. “This is tremendously difficult for me to write and certainly not how any of us imagined this to go.

“As a Minnesota native, putting on this uniform over the years and representing this community both on and off the field has always meant that much more to me. This team is in my bones, it’s in my heart and it’s part of my DNA. I will ALWAYS be a Minnesota Viking.

“Since this past Spring, I knew this was going to be my last season playing in the National Football League. Given that, the Vikings [have] allowed me the opportunity to go compete elsewhere for the last few weeks of my career.

“Minnesota will always be our home, and we are incredibly grateful to the Wilf family, Kwesi, K.O. and everyone in the Vikings organisation for bringing us back in August. This organisation means the world to us from the top down and this locker room is filled with true professionals.

“With gratitude and love — and I’ll be back to retire!”