Adam Thielen says Patriots tried to trade for him while with Vikings

Imagine the former Vikings standout catching passes from Tom Brady.

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Adam Thielen (19) makes a catch during pregame warm ups against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C., on Jan. 7, 2024. / Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

Former Vikings receiver Adam Thielen and then-New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick had a heated moment during the 2018 season, and while there appeared to be some bad blood between the two, Thielen also said the Patriots tried to trade for him the following offseason. 

The Vikings were trailing 24-10 during the fourth quarter of their Dec. 2, 2018, game when Belichick wanted to challenge the spot on a run by Latavius Murray. Then Patriots safety Patrick Chung went down with an injury, which gave Belichick more time to pull out the challenge flag. 

Thielen said he felt that was a stretching of the rules when he was asked about it on the Pardon My Take podcast before he revealed an even more interesting nugget. 

“I just let (Belichick) know I didn’t feel like that was the right thing to do, but it is what it is,” Thielen said before saying everything is now water under the bridge between him and Belichick. 

Pardon My Take host Eric Sollenberger then pointed out Thielen is the type of player that Belichick seemingly loves to have on his roster. Thielen not playing in New England apparently wasn't due to a lack of effort in making hit happen for Belichick's part.

“I believe going into that next offseason, (Belichick) had reached out to the (Vikings) about, you know, possibly trading for me, trying to get me to come there,” Thielen said. “So it must have been like a good impression, he must have liked that kind of tenacity or competitiveness.” 

Thielen was never traded, but it would certainly have been interesting to see him catch passes from Tom Brady. Instead, Thielen will go down as one of the top Vikings receivers in recent memory, racking up 6,682 receiving yards and 55 touchdowns across his nine years in Minnesota.