CHARLOTTE — Adam Thielen was still around the building this morning. There was speculation the Panthers and Vikings were nearing a trade for the veteran Pro Bowl receiver, after a week of rumors, but the talks had gone through peaks and valleys.

Wednesday morning, though, even as things felt imminent, Thielen arrived early, as he always does. He was operating under the same mindset as Dave Canales—a deal might not happen; be prepared to still give everything for the Panthers if it doesn't.

"I appreciate that about him," Canales said explained Wednesday afternoon. "For me it was like he just couldn't wait to get back on the field, and he really kept it professional with me, as far as just like, I play for you. I play for the Panthers, and so that's the approach he really took with me, and so that's the approach I took with him.

As general manager Dan Morgan and the Vikings continued to work through possibilities, though, they found a common ground that sent the Minnesota native back home and to the club with whom he played the first nine years of his career.

Thielen was traded to the Vikings on Wednesday morning—along with a conditional 2026 seventh-rounder, and a 2027 fifth-rounder—for a 2026 fifth-rounder and a 2027 fourth-rounder from Minnesota.

As the news began to trickle out and Thielen's phone started to ring from his agent, the Panthers' top pass-catcher the past two years knew he needed to get home, but first, he had to have a couple of conversations.

He took a few minutes with the wide receivers room, offering encouragement to the group he's been the leader of since arriving in 2023.

"He was just, he's really proud of us and he's excited for us," second-year receiver Jalen Coker shared of Thielen's message this morning. "He's really excited for us and wants us to do well this year."

He stopped in for a quick conversation with Canales, who added Thielen had never openly expressed a desire to leave Carolina.

"He and I had a long conversation today," Canales said. "It's just, it's about patience and it's about the right thing being done, and I think we come away with this and all of us, the Vikings, Adam, ourselves, I think we all come away with this thing feeling like we're in a good spot."

And he had a private goodbye with Bryce Young, the quarterback whom Thielen has helped come into his own in Charlotte.

"Everything happens really quickly. He was here for a second, just here early like he is, and then had to go, but yeah, I was able to see him, to talk to him," Young said. "So, obviously I'll keep that between us, but, you know, that's the business."

While the personal goodbyes will remain private, understandably so, there is still the impact of Thielen to address. For Young, that was someone who became both a primary target for the No. 1 overall pick (Thielen averaged 7.3 targets per game in Carolina) and a safety blanket on scramble plays.

"Someone who obviously has meant so much to us over these last couple of years on the field, but even more off the field," said Young. "You guys get to see the Sundays, but what he's meant to the team, just in the locker room, where he's been, all that stuff.

"It's part of the business. We're always going to be, always going to be close. I'm always going to be rooting for him on his success."

For Canales, Thielen was a bridge and an example as he worked to build a program with the Panthers.

"The competitive spirit, the toughness, and really just the energy he brought every day, professionalism, and how it really impacted and affected a really young group of wideouts and a young coach," shared Canales.

"It's something that I'll take with me forever, just to kind of see what it means to him to go out there, every day and to get after it."

It's Coker, though, who found one of the stronger connections with the veteran Thielen, patron saint of undrafted receivers, even in just one short year together.

"The time I spent with him was invaluable," Coker said. "Similar backgrounds, able to kind of relate to a lot of different things that some other guys might not be able to, just because of our story of how we got here.

"His guidance and just him building my confidence and just kind of helping me throughout the way was invaluable."

That guidance will come into play now in Thielen's absence. With his departure, Young will now be playing with a corps whose oldest player is David Moore, 30. Following Moore, the next oldest is UDFA Brycen Tremayne at 25. The oldest player drafted by the Panthers in the room is Xavier Legette, who is 24.

Canales isn't worried about who will take over Thielen's spot in specific schemes—the Panthers have felt confident in their receiver depth all offseason. He's more so curious who will take the spot as the guaranteed playmaker.

"So we added TMac ( Tetairoa McMillan ), so there's another guy that we want to get the ball to, and he's going to have his specific role, and I think it really just comes down to who's going to make the plays," questioned Canales.

"Adam makes plays. He consistently did that for his career, and certainly last year, at the end of the season, when he came back to us, he made plays. And so this is just an opportunity for guys to be there, and to be available for Bryce, whether it's on a critical third down or whether it's to win the game, you know, these are incredible opportunities for them."

Thielen's departure coincides with Young's ascension into more of a stabilizing presence in the locker room. This move will fast-track it even more, though, as the quarterback takes on the mantle of veteran voice and leader for his offense. And while running back Chuba Hubbard will continue to step on the box anytime something needs to be said or the group needs to be challenged, Young is taking responsibility for the young receiving corps onto himself.

"The great thing about this group," Young began, "it's young and it's a lot of young guys that want to be great, that are hungry, want to work, want to be the best version of themselves, see the best offense we can be, so us continuing to have conversations, just push each other.

"Obviously, as a quarterback, for me to lead by example on and off the field and then make sure they're all on the same page when it comes to practices, and I'm grateful to have a group like that where that's not difficult.

"They want to hear what I have to say, you know, they want to be on the same page, so just us continuing to do that is going to be super important."

When the Panthers jogged onto the field this afternoon for practice, things looked a little different. Thielen was no longer there, warming up and dancing with Moore, or on the sidelines with a cup of coffee—as he always would be when taking a day off or rehabbing. Legette was first in line for most of the drills, having spent a year watching Thielen go through them before following the veteran.

But the team was on the field together, and after two days of cutting the roster down to 53 men, simultaneously happening with the trade, that's what mattered to Canales.

"The thing that always brings us back is just getting back on the grass, regardless of what happens before. When we get out there, at some point during that practice, we're just playing football again, and we were able to do that for the last two days," said Canales.

"It feels different, and it feels—there's all the emotions that are involved and guys that people spend a lot of time with who aren't here. But you know, to get back on the grass, to make it about football, to know that we're working towards something, brings us back."