NFL star Adam Thielen has been released by the Minnesota Vikings at his own request, as he chases regular game-time before hanging up his cleats at the end of the season.
Thielen had weighed up retirement last summer, before revealing exclusively to the Daily Mail that he would be returning for a 12th season in the league.
He has been back home in Minnesota this season, but has now been released by the team, with a bombshell statement published on Monday afternoon.
It is as yet unclear whether Thielen already has another team lined up, but he released a statement of his own shortly after the Vikings' post.
He said on X, “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 allowed me the opportunity to go compete elsewhere for the last few weeks of my career,” he added.
Thielen has played in all of the Vikings' 11 games so far this season, but his snap count has been limited, and he only received one target against the Packers last time out.
