The Minnesota Vikings have used their last temporary practice-squad elevation on former Pro Bowl edge rusher Kyle Van Noy, adding him to the active roster for Sunday’s Week 3 game at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, via the NFL transaction wire.
Van Noy, 35, also was elevated for Minnesota’s wins over Green Bay and Chicago. Under NFL rules, a player may be called up from the practice squad three times in a season.
After Sunday, the Vikings must sign him to the 53-man roster if they want him available again. Otherwise he returns to the practice squad, where another team could still sign him away.
Minnesota signed Van Noy to the practice squad on Sept. 2, days after second-year edge Tyler Batty tore his ACL and after trading Jonathan Greenard in the offseason.
The move reunited Van Noy with defensive coordinator Brian Flores, who coached him with the New England Patriots and later with the Miami Dolphins. Van Noy won Super Bowls LI and LIII in New England.
He is not being asked to carry the pass rush. Andrew Van Ginkel and Dallas Turner remain the starters.
Van Noy’s job is rotational snaps, scheme familiarity, and veteran presence behind two less-proven backups, Bo Richter and Chaz Chambliss.
In Week 1, he played 25 defensive snaps against the Packers and recorded a tackle. Reports have him around 30 percent of defensive snaps through two games.
The résumé still matters. A second-round pick out of BYU in 2014, Van Noy has 57 career sacks.
With Baltimore in 2024 he posted a career-high 12.5 sacks and made his first Pro Bowl. Production slipped in 2025 to two sacks in 15 games, but he still started 13 and added an interception.
Sunday’s game is at Raymond James Stadium, with kickoff at 4:05 p.m. ET on FOX. The Vikings are 2-0 after beating Green Bay and Chicago. Tampa Bay is 0-2.
Minnesota also elevated safety Tavierre Thomas and signed punter Johnny Hekker to the 53-man roster, placing center Nick Samac on injured reserve.
Van Noy has been blunt about the practice-squad arrangement. He said he is checking his ego after years as a highly paid starter, while noting the Vikings have treated him like a 53-man player in practice.
For one more Sunday, that is officially true. After that, Minnesota has a roster decision to make.
