Van Noy Is a Nice Signing. It Doesn't Fix What's Broken.

Kyle Van Noy agreed to terms with Minnesota on Tuesday night — 35 years old, 13 seasons, 57 career sacks. He's a known commodity, the kind of veteran who can play a role and keep younger guys honest in the locker room. The Vikings needed bodies after a preseason that chewed through their linebacker and secondary depth, and Van Noy is a reasonable answer to that specific problem.

The specific problem, though, is not the one that matters most. Jamal Adams was signed in July to anchor this secondary — a three-time Pro Bowler brought in to give the back end some credibility heading into McCarthy's second year. He went down with a non-contact knee injury in the preseason opener and was ruled out for the season the next day. That's the hole. Van Noy is an outside linebacker with a long résumé, not a safety, and he doesn't fill it.

What Minnesota has now is Joshua Metellus, a secondary depth chart that leaned heavily on youth and draft picks even before the injuries started, and a linebacker corps that also lost Dwight McGlothern Jr. late in August. Van Noy adds experience to that room. That's real. But the plan coming into 2026 was built around Adams as the veteran anchor in the back end, and that plan no longer exists. Signing a 35-year-old edge rusher doesn't change the math on what's missing — it just gives the front office something to point to.