The Vikings have to make some moves before the start of the league year just to get under the salary cap, and wide receiver Adam Thielen’s $19.97 million cap hit is the second-highest on the team behind only Kirk Cousins. Which means Thielen’s contract is under scrutiny.
Thielen acknowledged today in an interview with Pat McAfee that the Vikings want to restructure his deal before his 2023 salary of $11.8 million becomes fully guaranteed.
“It’s a little interesting,” Thielen said. “We’re working through some stuff because I’ve got a big cap hit. . . My contract fully guarantees on, I think, March 16.”
Thielen restructured his contract a year ago to give the Vikings some cap relief in 2022, but that increased his cap number in 2023. He did not commit to any kind of agreement to restructure his contract or take a pay cut this year, and it’s unclear just how close he and the Vikings are to working through a new deal -- or whether Thielen might go elsewhere this year.
