PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Now two practices into a Steelers career, 35-year-old receiver Adam Thielen says a lot will be said about what he can do, but he thinks he can still make an impact in the NFL.
“I’ve always had a lot of confidence in what I can do as a football player,” Thielen said Thursday after practice. “I still feel that I can run all of the routes and that I can be a deep threat, intermediate and short. Sometimes as an older player you get tagged as ‘oh, he can only do this. He can’t run anymore’. I’ve always felt the need to prove otherwise.”
Thielen said he’s currently in the position where he feels like he is learning a new language trying to pick up the calls for the Steelers offense. He spent at least a half an hour after practice Thursday with rookie quarterback Will Howard just going over the offense and running routes.
“At the end of the day, you can look at a play call, you can look at a picture of the play, but until you actually hear it, line up and execute it, and then on top of that all of the different checks, things you can get to in different situations,” Thielen said. “I need to be dialed in on all of that.”
The 12-year NFL vet said he doesn’t find this stressful, rather he enjoys this challenge of learning a new offense in a couple of days. He said Mason Rudolph and others have also been great in helping him along. Now he’s got to show he can still play after only getting 185 snaps over 11 games in his return to the Vikings this season.
He’s seen a lot over his career and said he understands the general nature of teams when they are struggling to hit a deep ball. Thielen said it really does start in practice, when receivers make plays on deep throws in practice it gives the quarterback and offensive coordinator the belief to call them in games.
Thielen has had his eyes on the Steelers, he knew they attempted to get him at the trade deadline last year. It makes him feel good about being here, that the Steelers still believe he can play. Now he’s just living in the moment, hoping his career is more than just five games long.
“The situation that they’re in, that we’re in, the opportunity to come and make an impact,” Thielen said, acknowledging that if he would play Sunday it would also be in a rivalry game. “It’s just going out there every day like a rookie mini-camp tryout guy and trying to prove what I can do. Whatever they see that role is, I’m ready for it.”
After 693 career catches, 8,380 yards and 64 touchdowns in the NFL, Adam Thielen has one more chance, with a team in need of a spark.