NFL Insider Keeps Floating Veteran Wideout To New England; Should Patriots Pursue?

Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer mentioned it earlier in the week and doubled down on his comments Thursday.

Is there really something to the New England Patriots calling up the Carolina Panthers and orchestrating a wide receiver swap in which they acquire Adam Thielen?

Breer certainly sees the Patriots landing Thielen before the upcoming Nov. 5 NFL trade deadline in exchange for someone like failed draft pick Tyquan Thornton, who New England reportedly is shopping, as a positive move.

“That’s the sort of thing that could make some sense,” Breer said on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s “Zolak and Bertrand” on Thursday. “If you’re saying, ‘OK, our receiver room is in a really weird spot. We want to bring somebody in here who can be kind of a stabilizing force, so we don’t lose the young guys. So Ja’Lynn Polk does have an influence in there.’ Thielen wouldn’t be the worst guy to go and get.”

But it’s fair to wonder how much exactly the 34-year-old Thielen has left in the tank as he’s now in his 11th NFL season. Sure, he had a bounce-back season in 2023 when he totaled 103 receptions for 1,014 yards and four touchdowns, but hasn’t done much this season due to a hamstring injury landing him on injured reserve.

It says something that the Vikings, with whom Thielen spent the first nine seasons of his career, decided the wideout wasn’t worth taking a big cap hit for and cut him following the 2022 season.

Now it feels like Thielen is in NFL purgatory with the Panthers and the Patriots could get him out of there. But pulling off a trade just for the sake of doing one isn’t good practice.

Thielen, as Breer suggested, could bring a leadership presence to a young Patriots receiver group and also dispense knowledge of the position to them, too. But the Patriots seem to already have that in Kendrick Bourne and Hunter Henry. But maybe Thielen can get through to Polk, Javon Baker and DeMario Douglas better than New England’s veterans have this season.

But while strengthening the locker room’s leadership group would be great, what the Patriots really need is a playmaker for Drake Maye. Thielen’s not exactly that at this point in his career.

The Patriots had the right idea of trying to land a big fish whether it was through free agency (Calvin Ridley) or via a trade (Brandon Aiyuk). They came up empty both times.

But going out and getting Thielen would be like going out and catching a minnow. It’s just not what the Patriots need at this time.