From saying goodbye to his home state and a franchise he’s long been associated with, to navigating the waiver wire to a quick unforeseen promotion up the depth chart to a wild, highly meaningful, do-or-die game, it’s been quite a 5 ½-week span for Adam Thielen.
“It definitely has been that,” Thielen said from the Pittsburgh Steelers locker room, “but that’s also the NFL. I think the longer you play in this league, the more you just understand it’s a week-to-week league. Every week is so different. Every series is so different, right?”
Yes, but Thielen’s December was different than most. Far different. With the Minnesota Vikings out of playoff contention and the 35-year-old Thielen contemplating retirement at the end of the season, he requested a release from a team for which he played 10 of 12 NFL seasons and made 542 receptions.
In need of help at wide receiver, the Steelers claimed Thielen on Dec. 2, and he quickly earned a significant role in the offense. Over the final five games of the season, the Steelers won four — and that was needed to get into the playoffs. Thielen, meanwhile, played 76% of the offensive snaps the final two games while top Steelers receiver DK Metcalf served a suspension.
Now, a frenzied rush to prepare for Monday’s wild-card playoff game against the Houston Texans.
That’s not a crazy month, Adam?
“No, no,” he said. “Thirteen years (in the NFL), I’ve seen a lot. So nothing is surprising in this league. You just show up the next day, give the most effort you can and figure it out from there.”
The Steelers have been thankful for Thielen’s veteran savvy as he’s served as one of their most-deployed wide receivers since he’s joined the team. He’s made 11 catches for 117 yards in five games (three starts).
That includes a pretty 28-yard catch from Aaron Rodgers that set up a tying second-half touchdown during this past Sunday’s de facto AFC North championship game. Rodgers has also credited Thielen’s route-running with opening up other aspects of the offense — in particular, some big gains made on passes to Metcalf.
Even with Metcalf’s return, Thielen could settle in a role as WR2 or WR3 against Houston. Thielen has appeared in six postseason contests in his career — winning two — but Monday will be his first playoff game since the end of the 2022 season. Thielen has 24 catches over his past five postseason games.
Since arriving in Pittsburgh, Thielen has walked back reports that he has decided on retirement after the season. But the possibility surely exists that Monday will be his final NFL game.
Don’t figure on that adversely affecting his preparation or focus Monday.
“There’s so many ups and downs through a game, through a season, through a week,” Thielen said, ‘so you just kind of get numb to that and you just focus on the next play and the next week and the next day. And go from there.”