Sometimes the right veteran lands in the right place at the right time.
That’s the story with Kyle Van Noy and the Vikings. Minnesota brought in a pass rusher with a long NFL track record, and while the move officially came with Van Noy on the practice squad, that detail looks more like roster maneuvering than a true indicator of where this is headed.
The expectation is that he’ll end up on the active roster as Edge 3 sooner rather than later, likely by Week 1 or shortly after. And if there’s one game where Minnesota can afford to be patient at edge, it’s opening day against the Green Bay Packers.
For a team that had real concerns about depth at several spots, especially on defense, Van Noy helps calm things down. He doesn’t solve everything, and nobody should pretend he’s suddenly a high-end starter again. But behind Dallas Turner and Andrew Van Ginkel, he gives the Vikings something they badly needed: a veteran who knows the system, knows how to function in it, and knows how to survive in a rotational role.
Van Noy’s career has taken him all over the league since the Detroit Lions made him a second-round pick out of BYU in 2014. He really took off after Detroit sent him to New England in a sixth-for-seventh-round pick swap. From there, he carved out a bigger role, then hit another level under Brian Flores during the Patriots’ Super Bowl run in 2018.
That Flores connection matters here. Van Noy has always been a bit of a hybrid - too big to be a classic linebacker, too small to live as a full-time edge - and Flores found ways to use that versatility.
Van Noy became the kind of piece a coordinator can move around, ask to rush, ask to drop, and trust to do the job. One of the better examples came when he was sacking Jared Goff on the way to that Super Bowl win.
After a one-year stop back with Flores in Miami, Van Noy bounced around before spending the last three seasons with the Baltimore Ravens. The production has slipped some, which is what happens when a linebacker gets into his mid 30s.
Last season he had two sacks in 15 games. He’s not built to be a full-time starter in 2026, but he is built to be useful when the assignment is narrower and the role is clearer.
That’s where Flores can squeeze value out of him again. Van Noy wins with toughness, football IQ, and effort.
He can come downhill, attack with aggression, and still do enough in coverage to keep offenses honest when used in simulated pressure looks. Just ask Joe Burrow.
And on that 95-yard pick-six, the savvy wasn’t only in the play itself - it was in Van Noy knowing he wasn’t taking it all the way and handing it off to Alohi Gilman.
I don’t know who needs to see this today, but here’s THAT 95 yard pick six from Kyle Van Noy and Alohi Gilman that ended the Bengals season! pic.twitter.com/m8QEcbJMOY
- Nic Mason (@British_Raven19) December 15, 2025
At this point in his career, Van Noy is more about instincts and motor than pure speed or power. That’s still enough for Flores to work with, especially in a rotational setup.
Minnesota does have other depth options at outside linebacker and edge, including Bo Richter and Jake Golday, and those players may have more juice athletically. But they haven’t shown they can handle everything Flores asks in the run game, as pass rushers, and in coverage. Van Noy can cover more of those bases, at least in short bursts.
If Turner or Van Ginkel were to miss major time, Van Noy alone wouldn’t be the answer. But in a short-term pinch, he could help lead the rotation that keeps the Vikings afloat. He gives Flores another body to deploy in odd looks, another player who can handle the dirty work, free up stunts, and hold up against the run.
Luke Braun of Locked on Vikings put it well when he compared Van Noy to the version of Anthony Barr fans always wanted to see more often as a hand-in-the-dirt pass rusher. That was the player people imagined when they pictured Barr off the edge. Van Noy was that guy in his prime.
Father Time has taken some of that away, but not all of it. There may still be a cameo or two left in him.
What Minnesota has done here is move its edge depth from alarming to workable. It doesn’t replace a Jonathan Greenard-sized presence, but it does give the Vikings a chance to survive if they have to lean on the room for a few games. For a team with depth questions in more than one place, that’s a meaningful step toward peace of mind.
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