Panthers Designate Three To Return Including WR Adam Thielen

The Carolina Panthers announced they’ve designated WR Adam Thielen and S Jordan Fuller to return from injured reserve, while OLB D.J. Wonnum was designated to return from the physically unable to perform list.

Three players returning to practice Wednesdayhttps://t.co/V69wLfxrIE

— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) October 23, 2024

This opens all three players’ 21-day window to practice before being activated. 

Thielen, 34, wound up signing on with the Vikings as an undrafted free agent out of Minnesota State-Mankato back in 2013. He spent his rookie season on the Vikings’ practice squad before returning to the team on a future/reserve contract the following year.

Minnesota brought Thielen back for the 2015 season on a one-year exclusive rights deal before signing him to a four-year, $19.240 million contract that included $11 million guaranteed in 2017. 

Thielen was set to make base salaries of $5.85 million and $5.35 million before agreeing to a four-year extension in 2019 worth as much as $73 million. The Vikings opted to release back in 2023. 

From there, Thielen signed a three-year, $25 million contract with Carolina.

In 2024, Thielen has appeared in three games for the Panthers and caught eight passes for 109 yards receiving and one touchdown.

Fuller, 26, was drafted by the Rams in the sixth round out of Ohio State back in 2020. He played out the final year of his four-year, $3.465 million deal with the Rams that included a $170,708 signing bonus. 

Fuller was testing the open market as an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his NFL career before signing on with the Panthers in March. 

He landed on injured reserve in September.

In 2024, Fuller has appeared in three games for the Panthers and recorded 15 tackles.