Pretty Soon, Vikings Will Need to Make the Final Call on a Pass Rusher

Prior to the NFL season beginning, Minnesota made a move to bring edge rusher Kyle Van Noy to the Twin Cities, albeit on the practice squad.

Soon enough, the Vikings will need to make the call on the veteran pass rusher.

A team has three free elevations from the practice squad per player. Already, Van Noy has been bumped up for the Week 1 and Week 2 games. Opting for the same move in Week 3 will mean having burned up all of the free elevations. Wanting (needing?) him for more work will mean needing to clear out room on the 53-man roster for him.

Vikings Will Have to Make Van Noy Call Soon

Lately, Dallas Turner has been gobbling up the attention in Minnesota. And why not? The long-and-strong 23-year-old defender has been terrific (despite what some have insisted).

A bit lost in the shuffle has been Mr. Van Noy.

The veteran newcomer hasn’t been elite but he has been solid. As an EDGE3 who got picked up late, that’s about all the Vikings could reasonably demand. After all, he’s currently accounting for just $485,044, per Over the Cap. Mr. Van Noy has played in both games, starting one. He’s sitting atop 2 tackles with 1 tackle for loss.

Ask a spot like PFF and there will be some reasonably solid praise.

Kyle Van Noy is being listed as the 29th-best edge rusher out of the 112 who are being considered. He does so due to his healthy 71.6 grade. Nobody thinks that Minnesota is getting an elite edge rusher, but the recent add has been what the Vikings’ sophisticated, aggressive defense needs.

Van Noy’s workload has consisted of 43 snaps on defense. If that’s where he lands for the 2026 season — about 20 solid snaps per game — then the Vikings will be pleased.

Best guess at this stage is that Kyle Van Noy is going to get bumped up for the Week 3 Buccaneers game. If so, then Minnesota will have burned up all three of the free elevations. A decision will then await the coaching staff and front office on the best way to proceed.

Signing Van Noy is a pretty straightforward decision insofar as he’s a good ball player who won’t cost a ton. The issue is that a 53-man roster needs to give ground somewhere. Going +1 on the pass rusher means needing to go -1 somewhere else. Put differently, a player will need to get cut or shuffled to the IR to clear out an open roster spot.

Kyle Van Noy, 35, will try to chase down Baker Mayfield on Sunday, September 27th. Afterwards, his attention will turn towards getting a spot on the full roster.

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