Adam Thielen's career year didn't end with 1,000 receiving yards.
The Vikings wide receiver was just happy his team ended the 2016 season with a win.
Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press chatted with Thielen on Sunday about falling a few dozen yards shy of the milestone.
Tomasson wrote:
*Thielen finished the season with 69 catches for 967 yards, quite an improvement over last year's 12 grabs for 144 yards. He insisted he didn't care about not reaching 1,000 yards. *
"Nope,'' he said. "I was just playing the game. You can't look at that stuff as a receiver because there are so many factors that lead into that kind of stuff. You just got to play the game and try to win.''
When asked about being targeted just once, the receiver said, "You can't be surprised in this league.''
*Second-year receiver Stefon Diggs also had been a candidate to reach 1,000 yards. Diggs, though, didn't play Sunday because of a hip injury and finished with 84 catches for 903 yards. *
Greenway soaks up Sunday's season finale
It remains to be seen if Sunday was Riley Reiff's final game in Purple.
The Vikings linebacker just finished his 11th season in the NFL, all with the Vikings, and is considering retirement.
Andrew Krammer of the Star Tribune wrote after Minnesota's 38-10 win that the former first-round pick soaked up every moment he could on Sunday.
Should this be the end of the line for Greenway, a two-time Pro Bowler and 2006 first-round pick, he'll have played 161 games with the Vikings as one of the franchise's all-time leading tacklers. His six consecutive seasons as the Vikings leading tackler (2008-2013) ties Scott Studwell for the most in Vikings history. Greenway, who turns 34 on Jan. 12, appeared in all 16 games this season for the ninth time in his career.
Greenway specifically wanted to focus on routine interactions many can take for granted.
"I thought about this morning," Greenway said. "You don't realize you're talking to security guards and people — Dave, our parking lot attendant, has been with me for 11 years. Relationships like that you don't think about and you cherish."
Brothers hoping to take next step in 2017
Kentrell Brothers was a special teams standout during his first season in Minnesota.
Yet as the 2016 fifth-round pick readies for his first offseason, the Vikings linebacker wants to work his way into a bigger role next season.
John Holler of Viking Update talked with Brothers about the work he's been putting in and how he hopes to have an increased presence on defense in 2017.
*Despite Brothers' impressive college production, it has taken time for him to make the adjustment because the players are bigger, stronger and faster in the NFL and he has seen that he needs to catch up to his learning curve. *
*Brothers has credited his coaches and teammates for helping that process along and his confidence is growing as the coaching staff's confidence in him increases. *
"I've been getting reps in practice and the coaches are always checking up on me to make sure I know the plays and my assignments," Brothers said. "They're making sure I know the play, making sure I know the tendencies and making sure I know what the other team is doing. They're staying on me hard and I appreciate that they care and think I can actually play on this team."
