Kyle Van Noy is inching his way from practice-squad insurance to something much more permanent in Minnesota.
The Vikings elevated the veteran edge rusher for Sunday’s Week 2 game in Chicago, marking his second straight call-up. Minnesota also brought up rookie wideout Dillon Bell, but Van Noy’s promotion is the one that keeps pointing toward a 53-man roster spot. He’s back in the rotational edge role that was projected in the Week 1 depth-chart update, and the message is getting harder to miss.
Under NFL rules, a player can be elevated three times in a season before the team has to sign him to the 53-man roster if it wants to keep dressing him. Sunday uses Van Noy’s second elevation, which leaves the Vikings one temporary move left.
That’s the technical side. The practical side is even louder: back-to-back elevations this early don’t happen by accident, especially not for a 35-year-old with Van Noy’s résumé.
He played 25 defensive snaps against the Packers in the opener and finished with one solo tackle. No sack, but that was still a solid first showing for a player who had been with the organization just 11 days before the game. Brian Flores already knew him from their time together in New England, so the Vikings had a built-in reason to trust him quickly.
Van Noy entered 2026 with 561 tackles, 57 sacks, 14 forced fumbles, 10 recoveries, and four interceptions in 173 regular-season games. His tackle against Green Bay pushed him to 562 tackles in 174 games. He also brings two Super Bowl rings and a 2024 Pro Bowl nod to Minnesota’s defense.
There’s also a reason the Vikings are still watching closely. Van Noy’s production dipped sharply after a career-best 12.5 sacks in 2024.
Last season, he had 20 tackles, two sacks, and an interception in 15 games. At this stage, Minnesota isn’t asking him to carry the pass rush.
He’s there to back up Andrew Van Ginkel and Dallas Turner with proven depth.
Van Noy signed to the practice squad on a $411,300 non-guaranteed base, so another game check is only part of the story. The real money comes with a permanent roster spot, and the real signal for Minnesota would be that Flores sees him as more than a short-term patch.
If Van Noy logs another workload in the neighborhood of 25 snaps against Caleb Williams and the Bears, the Vikings will be down to their final elevation. After that, they’ll have to make a choice: create a roster spot or stop dressing a veteran they’ve already started treating like part of the defense.
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