Who Should I Start? Adam Thielen or Calvin Austin III

Monday, December 1, 12:35 PM

The Minnesota Vikings announced on Monday that they have waived wide receiver Adam Thielen. The 35-year-old wideout's role on offense in Minnesota had been dropping since their bye back in Week 6. The Vikings will now part ways with Thielen after they made him a healthy scratch for Sunday's blowout loss to the Seattle Seahawks in Week 13. With Thielen out of the picture for the rest of the year in a lost season for the Vikings, it will give Tai Felton and Myles Price more chances to contribute as depth options behind Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and Jalen Nailor. However, with second-year quarterback J.J. McCarthy (concussion) injured and struggling mightily in what is essentially his rookie season, all of Minnesota's pass-catchers have taken a big hit to their fantasy stock in 2025. In 11 games back with the Vikes this year, Thielen only produced eight catches on 18 targets for 69 yards and no touchdowns.

Saturday, November 29, 6:57 PM

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Calvin Austin III is looking to make an impact after posting a few duds recently. Austin has been held to 36 receiving yards or fewer in each of his last three games. The 26-year-old has also seen his snap count decrease heavily over the last two contests. There is certainly some decent upside with Austin, but he's not getting the playing time to be fantasy relevant right now. It's tough to trust him as anything more than a low-end flex option for the upcoming Week 13 matchup against the Buffalo Bills.