Minnesota isn’t getting the 2024 version of Kyle Van Noy, and nobody should expect them to.

Van Noy finished fourth in the NFL with a career-high 12.5 sacks and earned his first Pro Bowl nod. The 35-year-old the Vikings added to their practice squad Wednesday is coming off a season with just two sacks.

But that’s exactly why this move makes sense. Minnesota isn’t signing Van Noy to save the pass rush or live up to an old reputation. The Vikings are giving Brian Flores a versatile veteran he already trusts, without asking him to do more than he can handle at this stage of his career.

A Reunion With Real History

Flores knows Van Noy pretty well at this point. He coached him in New England from 2016 through 2018, when Van Noy helped the Patriots win two Super Bowls and led all players in sacks during the 2018 postseason. Van Noy then followed Flores to Miami in 2020 and finished with 69 tackles, six sacks, and six passes defended.

That Dolphins reunion didn’t end especially well. Miami released Van Noy after just one season of a four-year, $51 million deal, and Van Noy was pretty open about being surprised and disappointed by it.

Five years later, the fact that he’s choosing to work with Flores again tells you plenty about where that relationship stands. Probably more than any polished quote would.

It also helps that Flores already knows what Van Noy can handle. His defense finished third in total yards allowed last season by creating pressure with disguise, movement, and players who can switch jobs after the snap. Van Noy's been doing that kind of work for years. He can rush from different spots, set the edge, and drop into coverage when he has to.

Flores doesn’t need a long getting-to-know-you period to figure out where Van Noy fits.

The Role Is Smaller Now

Van Noy’s 2025 drop can’t be ignored. He started 13 games for Baltimore and finished with 20 tackles and just two sacks. He still generated 27 pressures on 338 pass-rush snaps, and he held up better against the run than his numbers might suggest. Still, this isn’t a player Minnesota should be asking to carry their front.

The Vikings don’t need him to do that. Dallas Turner broke out with eight sacks and four forced fumbles last season, and Andrew Van Ginkel added seven sacks despite missing five games. Those are the starters.

Van Noy's here to fill the third edge-rusher role Tyler Batty was expected to handle before tearing his ACL in the preseason finale.

In a different way, Van Noy also fills the kind of hole Jamal Adams was supposed to fill before his injury. Adams was brought in as a versatile veteran leader who could blur the line between defensive back and linebacker. Van Noy does something similar from the other direction, mixing defensive-line work with linebacker. The toolbox is different, but the idea is pretty similar.

The practice-squad label gives Van Noy time to ramp up after missing training camp, and Minnesota can elevate him for three games before needing to add him to the 53-man roster. If he can give Brian Flores 20 useful snaps and still win the occasional one-on-one when the scheme creates it, the Vikings will've gotten what they need.

This isn’t a move that changes Minnesota’s ceiling. It’s a smart bit of insurance that keeps one injury from dragging down the floor.

All stats courtesy of NFL Pro.

The Vikings open the season against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, Sept. 13th, at 4:25 p.m. ET on CBS and Paramount+.

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