Steelers Now
New Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Adam Thielen will wear No. 16 for the Black and Gold. Thielen wore No. 19 with Minnesota and Carolina. Thielen also wore No. 19 in college at Minnesota State University.
No. 19 is currently occupied by Calvin Austin III. The last Steelers player to wear No. 16 was wide receiver Robert Woods, who was cut on Sept. 2 after he requested and was granted his release from the practice squad.
Former Steelers quarterback Charlie Batch is the most notable Steeler to ever wear No. 16. Chiefs legend and Hall of Famer Len Dawson also wore the digit for the Steelers from 1957-1959.
The Steelers claimed Thielen off waivers from the Minnesota Vikings on Tuesday.
Thielen, 35, will join his third team this season. He started the year with the Carolina Panthers, who traded him to the Vikings on Aug. 27 in a late-round pick swap.
The Vikings used Thielen sparingly. In 11 games, he made four starts, but was targeted just 18 times and made eight catches for 69 yards. He recently requested his release from the Vikings, and it was granted.
The move to Minnesota was a return home, and to where he played the best years of his career. An undrafted free agent out of Minnesota State, Thielen first joined the Vikings in 2013.
After spending a season on the price squad, he made the NFL roster in 2014 and played mostly special teams. He became a starter in his third season in 2016 and was an All-Pro in 2017, racking up 1,276 yards and four touchdowns. He bested that in his second career Pro Bowl season in 2018, with 1,373 yards and nine scores.
Thielen left Minnesota in 2023, signing with the Panthers on a three-year, $25 million contract. At 33 years old, he showed he still had some juice left in the tank, posting his third career 1,000-yard season. But he was limited to just 10 games due to injury in 2024 before his trade this summer.
A 6-foot-2, 200 pound receiver, Thielen has played both slot and outside receiver in his career, though he has played more in the slot recently, with Carolina using him there over 70% of the time.
The Steelers have been searching for wide receiver help after trading George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys in May, but it’s not clear how much of an upgrade the aging Thielen will provide at this point.
The Steelers will not need to make a corresponding transaction for Thielen, as they had an open roster spot after placing left tackle Broderick Jones on the injured reserve list over the weekend.
Thielen’s wife, Caitlin, revealed in an Instagram post that her husband’s request to be released by the Vikings was more about playing time than winning,
“It’s been tough, it’s been really tough for Adam,” Caitlin said in an Instagram story on Tuesday. “It’s not even about wins or losses. It’s about Adam wanting to compete, wanting to play. This is...
