Vikings sign veteran edge rusher Van Noy to practice squad
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By Dave Campbell
AP Pro Football Writer
EAGAN, Minn. (AP) -- The Minnesota Vikings have signed 13-year veteran outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy to their practice squad, adding some needed depth and experience at the edge rusher position.
Van Noy, who was a free agent after playing the last three seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, agreed to join the Vikings on Tuesday night after visiting team headquarters. That he’s on the practice squad now means little for his ultimate role, given teams may elevate two players per game to the active roster.
“We’re really lucky to have a player of his caliber join us,” general manager Nolan Teasley said Wednesday.
Van Noy, who joins his fifth team in seven years, has 57 sacks in 173 career regular-season games after playing primarily on the inside earlier in his career. He earned his first Pro Bowl selection in 2024 with a career-high 12 1/2 sacks, but his productivity waned in 2025 as the Ravens defense often leaked. He had just two sacks.
Still, the 35-year-old Van Noy should provide a boost for a Vikings team with a largely unproven depth chart behind a dynamic set of starters in Andrew Van Ginkel and Dallas Turner.
Jonathan Greenard was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles for salary-cap savings in April, and second-year prospect Tyler Batty suffered a season-ending knee injury in the last exhibition game on Friday.
Bo Richter, an undrafted free agent addition in 2024 from Air Force, and Chaz Chambliss, an undrafted free agent addition in 2025 out of Georgia, are currently the top two backups on the roster. Rookie Jake Golday, who has primarily worked at inside linebacker, was drafted in the second round out of Cincinnati because of his potential to play on the edge in a Van Ginkel-like role. Chambliss also has begun taking turns at fullback.
Drafted in the second round in 2014 out of BYU by the Detroit Lions, Van Noy was traded to the New England Patriots midway through the 2016 season.
With the Patriots, he had current Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores as his position coach and played in three straight Super Bowls, winning two. During the 2018-19 playoffs, Van Noy had three sacks and a forced fumble in three games. He also played one year under Flores when he was the head coach for the Miami Dolphins in 2020, before returning to the Patriots in 2021 and spending one year with the Los Angeles Chargers in 2022.
J.J. McCarthy remains part of the present, even if his future is in question
With Kyler Murray now in place as the starting quarterback and 11th-year veteran Carson Wentz back this season after making five starts in 2025, the future of 2024 first-round draft pick J.J. McCarthy is unclear.
The Vikings, though, have no reason to try to resolve that status this year, especially since Murray and Wentz each had significant injuries last season. Teasley said he expects McCarthy to be on the roster for the opener on Sept. 13 against the rival Green Bay Packers.
“J.J. McCarthy’s role is to continue to develop and improve and to support his teammates,” said Teasley, who was hired in June. “He’s done an excellent job of that since I’ve been here and, from my understanding, since he walked through the door.”
Teasley declined to speculate about whether Wentz or McCarthy would serve as the No. 2 quarterback to start the regular season. McCarthy’s ankle injury kept him from participating in the final exhibition game last week, but he has returned to practice this week as a full participant, Teasley said.
“Looking forward to how he continues to develop in this system,” Teasley said. “I think the thing you need to continue to keep in mind with J.J. is that he has the hardest job in sport, he’s only started 10 games, and his story is not written.”
The Vikings also signed quarterback Max Brosmer, running back DeeJay Dallas and wide receiver Dillon Bell to their practice squad on Wednesday as they continued to tweak the edges of their roster. Brosmer is the No. 4 quarterback after making two emergency starts as an undrafted rookie in 2025. Dallas is a seventh-year veteran who has been with four teams in the last three seasons. Bell is an undrafted rookie from Georgia who has had some standout performances during spring and summer practices.