Minnesotans in the NFL

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
	Player	Pos	City	From	To	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

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Bryan Zollman