The Minnesota Vikings have a full off-ball linebacker room in 2026, so much so that a Buffalo Bills-centric website believes Blake Cashman will be released and become a late-summer roster addition option for Josh Allen’s team.
It’s a zany theory because it just doesn’t make sense to drop Cashman from a Vikings standpoint, but it’s out in the digital stratosphere nevertheless.
Cashman’s Production Makes the Theory Hard to Believe
Bills SI.com Says Buffalo Could Scoop Cashman
The idea emerged in an article from Randy Gurzi titled: Post-June 1 Cut Candidates the Buffalo Bills Could Target.
Gurzi explained, “Blake Cashman recently turned 30, which is one of the reasons the Minnesota Vikings might be willing to shed his $9.18 million salary. As a post-June 1 cut, the Vikings would free up $7.6 million. Despite his age, Cashman has remained highly effective, recording 144 tackles in 2025.”
“Still, he’s been named a potential trade or cut candidate throughout the offseason and if that winds up being the case, the Bills would be wise to bring him in on a one-year deal as they help Kaleb Elarms-Orr develop into a consistent starter.”
Cashman is one of the Vikings’ best defensive players, but that didn’t stop SI.com from predicting an August roster release. Strange days.
Cashman as a Roster Cut Candidate? Says Who?
The awkward aspect of the SI.com article is that it operates under the pretense that Cashman will be released — as if that’s common knowledge.
It’s not.
Cashman is very much a part of the Vikings’ defense’s DNA, and he’s not a fringe contributor who plays once in a while. Minnesota will, indeed, have a handful of roster bubble candidates, like safety Theo Jackson, tackle Walter Rouse, and tight end Ben Yurosek, to name a few, but Cashman is nowhere near that list.
Suggesting Cashman will be a free agent in late August is just bizarre.
The Production from Cashman
Last season, Cashman recorded 144 tackles in just 13 games, a pace projecting to 188 tackles over a full 17-game schedule. To put that in perspective, 188 tackles would rank him ninth all-time for a single season, demonstrating elite production.
The Vikings face a critical decision — probably in the 2027 offseason. Cashman is entering the final year of his contract, and his current $7.5 million annual salary no longer reflects the immense value he brings to Flores’s defense. A short-term extension — perhaps two years for around $20 million — appears to be the most straightforward solution, one that new general manager Nolan Teasley could finalize before the season begins.
The fit is perfect. Cashman plays as if tailor-made for Flores’ scheme, flying around the field, reading plays quickly, and making the big plays that keep the Vikings’ defense humming. He has truly found his groove in purple, and the results speak for themselves.
However, an interesting twist has emerged: rookie 2nd-Rounder Jake Golday.
The Vikings drafted him early in April, providing the front office with a potential backup plan should Cashman depart next offseason. While they could keep Cashman for another year, allow him to sign elsewhere, and then hand the keys to Golday, an extension makes far more sense given Cashman’s elite production, ideal fit, and crucial role in Flores’ defense.
In fact, an extension this summer is far more likely than the SI.com roster-release theory.
Imagining a 2026 Room without Him
Let’s pretend momentarily that Gurzi is right, and Minnesota drops Cashman because Golday is ready to take his job as a rookie. Minnesota’s inside linebacking corps would look like this:
- Eric Wilson
- Jake Golday
- Ivan Pace Jr.
- Jacob Roberts
- John Ross
- Keli Lawson
- Bangally Kamara
The room is just stronger with Cashman. Don’t hold your breath on the SI.com and Bills hypothesis.
Cashman also told Jim Rome last month, “I don’t think there is anybody happier on our defense than me. When I saw he was going to be coming back, obviously, for his career and himself and his family legacy. I’d love to see him be a head coach one day, but he is so fun to play for.”
“You see the growth in players, and I can 1,000% say, since working under Brian Flores, I’ve become astronomically smarter as a football player, and that’s something day one, when you’re in meetings, whether you’re a free agent or rookie, he says we’re going to have fun, we’re going to play with joy, and we’re going to be a football team with high football IQ, and they’re him and his staff are just great teachers of the game, and it’s very important, obviously, at this level.”
That doesn’t sound like a man on the roster bubble.
