Thielen approaching 100-game milestone
Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen s set to become the 45th Minnesota-born player to play in 100 NFL regular season games. Barring an injury, Thielen will reach the milestone on Week 11 against the Dallas Cowboys on Nov. 22. Thielen, who hails from Detroit Lakes and attended Minnesota State University-Mankato, will reach the milestone in his seventh season at age 30. He had played in all 16 regular season games his first five seasons before missing six games last year with an injury. He has played in 96 regular season games thus far and has caught 32 touchdown passes on 355 receptions for 4,340 yards.
He has long way to go, however, to reach Minnesota legend Larry Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald is the all-time leader in games played by a Minnesota-born player, having suited up for his 256th game Monday night where he caught a pass to make it 249 consecutive games where he has had at least one reception.
Only five Minnesota-born players have ever played in at least 200 NFL regular season games. They include Fitzgerald (256), Terrell Suggs (244), Rohn Stark (233), Matt Birk (210) and Dave Dalby (205). Fitzgerald, Suggs and Stark are all Minneapolis natives and Birk is from St. Paul. Dalby hails from Alexandria. Birk and Dalby were both centers and Stark was a punter. Suggs played his final season last year as a linebacker.
Thielen currently ranks 47th in games played for a Minnesota-born player but is expected to pass Marion Barber III and Justin Hartwig, who each played 99 games. Fitzgerald and Tom Compton of Rosemount are the only active Minnesota-born players with at least 100 games under their belt. Compton, a tackle from Rosemount, has played in exactly 100 games for six different teams.
Player | Pos | City | From | To | G | |
Games Played in NFL | ||||||
1 | Larry Fitzgerald | WR | Minneapolis | 2004 | 2020 | 256 |
2 | Terrell Suggs | LB | Minneapolis | 2003 | 2019 | 244 |
3 | Rohn Stark | P | Minneapolis | 1982 | 1997 | 233 |
4 | Matt Birk | C | St. Paul | 1998 | 2012 | 210 |
5 | Dave Dalby | C | Alexandria | 1972 | 1985 | 205 |
6 | Keith Fahnhorst | T | St. Cloud | 1974 | 1987 | 193 |
7 | Greg Larson | C | Minneapolis | 1961 | 1973 | 179 |
8 | Larry Cole | DE | Clarkfield | 1968 | 1980 | 176 |
9 | Steve Nelson | LB | Farmington | 1974 | 1987 | 174 |
10 | Jim LeClair | LB | St. Paul | 1972 | 1983 | 158 |
11 | Jeff Siemon | LB | Rochester | 1972 | 1982 | 156 |
12 | John Fina | T | Rochester | 1992 | 2002 | 155 |
13 | Gino Cappelletti | FL | Keewatin | 1960 | 1970 | 153 |
14 | Jim Langer | C | Little Falls | 1970 | 1981 | 151 |
15 | Steve Heiden | TE | Rushford | 1999 | 2009 | 148 |
16 | Dave Casper | TE | Bemidji | 1974 | 1984 | 147 |
17 | Milt Sunde | G | Minneapolis | 1964 | 1974 | 147 |
18 | Errol Mann | K | Breckenridge | 1968 | 1978 | 137 |
19 | Ramon Humber | MLB | Brooklyn Park | 2009 | 2018 | 136 |
20 | Chip Lohmiller | K | Woodbury | 1988 | 1996 | 135 |
21 | Barry Bennett | DT | St. Paul | 1978 | 1988 | 132 |
22 | Jon Borchardt | G | Minneapolis | 1979 | 1987 | 130 |
23 | Corbin Lacina | G | Mankato | 1994 | 2003 | 129 |
24 | Les Josephson | RB | Minneota | 1964 | 1974 | 129 |
25 | Marcus Sherels | DB | Rochester | 2010 | 2019 | 128 |
26 | Bob Wetoska | T | Minneapolis | 1960 | 1969 | 128 |
27 | Steve Martin | DT | St. Paul | 1996 | 2004 | 127 |
28 | Matt Herkenhoff | T | Melrose | 1976 | 1985 | 125 |
29 | Steve Zabel | LB | Minneapolis | 1970 | 1979 | 124 |
30 | Matt Spaeth | TE | St. Michael | 2007 | 2015 | 123 |
31 | Ben Hamilton | G | Minneapolis | 2002 | 2010 | 118 |
32 | James Laurinaitis | LB | Hamel | 2009 | 2016 | 117 |
33 | Craig Dahl | DB | Mankato | 2007 | 2015 | 117 |
34 | Derek Rackley | TE | Apple Valley | 2000 | 2007 | 116 |
35 | Ryan Harris | T | Minneapolis | 2007 | 2016 | 114 |
36 | Steve Kiner | LB | Sandstone | 1970 | 1978 | 114 |
37 | Adam Goldberg | G | Edina | 2004 | 2011 | 112 |
38 | Eric Decker | WR | Cold Spring | 2010 | 2017 | 111 |
39 | Jim Carter | LB | St. Paul | 1970 | 1978 | 106 |
40 | Todd Kalis | G | Stillwater | 1988 | 1995 | 103 |
41 | Michael Floyd | WR | St. Paul | 2012 | 2018 | 102 |
42 | Rod Smith | DB | St. Paul | 1992 | 1998 | 102 |
43 | Tom Compton | T | Rosemount | 2012 | 2020 | 100 |
44 | Jacky Lee | QB | Minneapolis | 1960 | 1969 | 100 |