After spending the past two seasons with the Panthers, Adam Thielen is returning home. The Panthers agreed to trade Thielen to the Vikings on Wednesday, bringing Thielen back to his home state of Minnesota and the team he spent the first 10 years of his career with.

The Thielen family is excited to return to Minnesota, but before he rejoins the Vikings, Thielen took some time to write out a thoughtful parting message to Carolina and express his gratitude to the organization and fanbase.

“Carolina, as a free agent in 2023, my family and I chose this team for a reason," Thielen wrote in a social media post. "We fell in love with the organization and the city on our free agent visit that has been home for us now for the past few years. ... Carolina will always be an important part of our journey."

Thielen continued, "We always strived to represent the Panthers organization with pride on and off the field and help build a winning culture. I am glad I got to be a small part of that process and KNOW the future is very bright in Charlotte. The organization is on the right path because of leadership from the top to bottom that is in place today and the talent that has been developed on the field."

Though the Panthers decided to trade Thielen, he will be missed in Carolina. Over 27 games with the Panthers, Thielen caught 151 passes for 1,629 yards and nine touchdowns. Beyond his numbers on the field, Thielen has provided an invaluable veteran presence to young quarterback Bryce Young, head coach Dave Canales and an inexperienced receiving core.

“I couldn’t ask for a better vet receiver to come into the league with, to have those conversations with, to learn from,” Young said Wednesday, via Joe Person of The Athletic. “Him as a person, one of the best people I’ve been around here — and same as a player. So I’m always gonna wish him the best."

Canales said, “We know who Adam is. We know what he could have brought to this team. So we know he’s gonna be missed in that regard. But there’s also an excitement for the guys that are here."

With Thielen returning to Minnesota, the Panthers will now turn to young wideouts Xavier Legette, Jalen Coker and first-round pick Tetairoa McMillan to lead this receiving core and offense.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Adam Thielen Sends Classy Message to Panthers After Getting Traded Back to Vikings.