HH. BREAKING: Adam Thielen Gets Candid About His Vikings Exit — And His Emotional Message Has Left Both Fanbases Talking.

Adam Thielen didn’t stay a free agent for long after the Minnesota Vikings waived him on December 1. The very next day, the Pittsburgh Steelers claimed the veteran wide receiver off waivers.

Pittsburgh, still competing in the AFC North, is seeking every possible advantage down the stretch. Thielen had just come back to Minnesota before the 2025 NFL season, rejoining the Vikings in late August following a trade from the Carolina Panthers.

On December 4, Thielen spoke with the media after joining the Steelers, and he shared his emotions about leaving Minnesota.

“Extremely tough,” Theilen told reporters. “It really wore on me mentally. Very, very, very tough. But again, just excited to have an opportunity. Very thankful for this organization and the people. Actually, today I said, ‘Man, I’ve had so many powerful conversations since I’ve got here, and zero of those powerful conversations had to do with football.’ So I’m very thankful for that.”

Adam Thielen’s Wife Talks Vikings Release

When the Vikings announced that Thielen’s second run in Minnesota had ended and he would be joining the Steelers, his wife explained why he was seeking a fresh start, since he will be retiring after this final NFL season.

“It’s not even about wins or losses, it’s about Adam wanting to compete, wanting to play,” Caitlin said on an Instagram video (h/t VikingzFanPage). “This is his last season… I know him as a competitor, he wants to compete, wants to play, wants to prove, he’s always been about proving people, proving to himself.”

Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah revealed that Thielen’s agent requested a release the week before Week 13. The 35-year-old receiver wanted a chance to make a bigger impact during the final weeks of his last season before retirement.

“Since this past Spring, I knew this was going to be my last season playing in the National Football League,” Thielen wrote in a post on social media (h/t ESPN). “Given that, the Vikings allowed me the opportunity to go compete elsewhere for the last few weeks of my career.”

Thielen steps into a Steelers wide receiver group that already features DK Metcalf, Calvin Austin III, Roman Wilson, Ben Skowronek, Ke’Shawn Williams, and Scotty Miller.

Mike Florio Doesn’t Hold Back on Steelers Grabbing Adam Thielen

With Thielen joining the Steelers, NBC Sports NFL insider Mike Florio thinks the wide receiver likely wasn’t eager to head to Pittsburgh.

“Poor Thielen, like Brandon Cooks was able to get through waivers and sign with any team he wanted,” Florio said on the December 3 edition of “Pro Football Talk.” “The belief is he would prefer a Super Bowl contender, and the Steelers clearly are not that, nor is Thielen going to turn them into one. Still, he was claimed on waivers one day after being released by the Vikings.

“Welcome to Pittsburgh, Adam Thielen. Enjoy the five games with the Steelers. He has said he plans to retire after the season, and while he might get one more game, it’s hard to see him getting more than that once the regular season ends.”

Bengals Make Final Decision on DE Trey Hendrickson

It shouldn’t come as a shock, but the Cincinnati Bengals have ruled out All-Pro defensive end Trey Hendrickson for the fifth straight week.

The Bengals ruled out DE Trey Hendrickson (hip/pelvis) again for Sunday’s game vs. Buffalo.

In what is a must win game against the Buffalo Bills this Sunday, Cincinnati would have liked for Hendrickson to be back in action, but his hip injury hasn’t progressed to the point where he’s ready to return.

Hendrickson injured his hip back in week six against the Green Bay Packers and then re-aggravated it against the New York Jets two weeks later. This will be the fifth straight game he’s missed.

Not only will Hendrickson miss the game at Orchard Park this weekend, he didn’t practice at all this week. He hasn’t practiced since the injury flare back in week eight.

Hendrickson’s Injury Recovery Taking Longer Than Expected

Considering the Bengals haven’t put Hendrickson on injured reserve, they were certainly hoping to have him back in the lineup sooner than later, as the IR designation requires a minimum of four weeks on the sideline.

I would be remiss not to mention the fact that Hendrickson and Cincinnati had a dispute over his contract during the offseason. Hendrickson was looking for a long-term extension, one that Cincinnati seemingly wasn’t willing to give him. Because of this, Hendrickson was heavily involved in trade rumors around the trade deadline back in early November.

He will become an unrestricted free agent in the offseason, so the Bengals were looking for potential suitors to take him for value in return, as opposed to the large sum of nothing they’ll get this offseason if they don’t re-sign him.

I’m not saying this is what’s happening, but it is definitely a possibility that Hendrickson is using this injury as an excuse to maintain his health heading into an offseason where he’ll be looking for a long-term contract with a high AAV. He may be holding out in order to ensure that his value stays as high as it possibly can, not wanting to sustain any further injury that teams could use against him in negotiations.

If this is what Hendrickson is doing, it’s likely he’s not telling the team about it. If he did, it would be a certainty that the Bengals would put him on IR to free up a roster spot.

Bengals Fighting For Playoff Lives This Weekend

Every game from here on out is a must-win for Cincinnati, who improved to 4-8 with a win over the Baltimore Ravens on Thanksgiving. In most other seasons, a team sitting at 4-8 would be dead in the water, but luckily for the Bengals, their AFC North counterparts haven’t played very good football this season.

Both Pittsburgh and Baltimore are sitting at 6-6, and are facing each other this weekend. With a win at Buffalo, Cincinnati will pull to within one game behind the loser of that game with another showdown against the Ravens coming in week 15.

It won’t come easily though. Cincinnati is heading up to western New York to take on a hot Bills team in cold, cold weather. Orchard Park is a notoriously difficult place for opposing teams to go in and get a win and Buffalo won’t roll over as it is battling for playoff positioning as well.

Kickoff in Buffalo is set for 1 p.m.