Vikings WR Adam Thielen suffered an ankle injury in Week 13 against the Lions.
Since then, Thielen has had issues. The Minnesota wideout missed Weeks 14 and 15 with an ankle injury. In Week 16, Thielen ended up playing against the Rams. However, he wasn’t out there for long before he continued to have problems with his ankle.
Now, the Minnesota wideout is done for the regular season after he underwent surgery on his ankle, according to Chad Graff of The Athletic.
Thielen has 726 receiving yards and 10 touchdown receptions in 2021. Really, the only thing that’s stopped Thielen from being a productive player since he’s risen through the ranks of the Vikings’ depth chart has been health.
With Thielen out, Minnesota WR Justin Jefferson will have to take on a bigger workload. WRs K.J. Osborn and Dede Westbrook can also step up into bigger roles.
But the Vikings’ had a one-two punch at wide receiver. Minnesota’s wideout strength drops off considerably if either Jefferson or Thielen go down. The Vikings need to overcome that against the Packers and Bears.