Vikings LB Linked to Cowboys in Trade Theory
The Minnesota Vikings suddenly have a crowded linebacker room, and some believe that could lead to a summer trade involving Blake Cashman, with the Dallas Cowboys even listed as a specific landing spot last week.
Minnesota could ask for draft capital, though moving Cashman would create a new defensive problem.
The Vikings could also just keep Cashman to preserve depth, but Tony Adame prefers the Cowboys trade idea.
The Cashman Trade Theory Gets Complicated
Would you trade Cashman?
The Cashman to DAL Theory
The upcoming 2026 campaign is the final year of Cashman’s contract, meaning, in theory, a trade might make sense.
Heavy‘s Tony Adame picked the Cowboys as a wise landing spot, noting, “The Dallas Cowboys have done a pretty commendable job of solidifying their defense over the last year. What’s left is inside linebacker, where a trade with the San Francisco 49ers for Dee Winters looks smart, but doesn’t seem like the complete solution the Cowboys need at that spot.”
“In this case, that could mean swapping a Day 3 pick for Minnesota Vikings inside linebacker Blake Cashman, who Pro Football Focus NFL reporter Bradley Locker put on his list of the top NFL trade candidates just 2 months out from training camp. Cashman’s salary for 2025 — $7.5 million — isn’t an insurmountable number for the Cowboys.”
Cashman is actually one of the Vikings’ best players, and for a team that already traded Jonathan Greenard to the Philadelphia Eagles last month, donating two defenders to the NFC East would be a little weird.
Adame continued, “He also wouldn’t come with the headache of dealing with someone else on the trade block — someone like Miami Dolphins inside linebacker Jordyn Brooks, who led the NFL with 183 tackles in 2025.”
“Brooks would almost certainly want a pricey extension following a trade, which is the whole reason behind his beef with his current team.”
PFF Puts Cashman on Trade Block
This started at PFF. Locker identified 15 prime trade candidates this summer, and on Cashman, he wrote, “Once the centerpiece of Minnesota’s fabulous defense, Cashman could be on the move after a down year. In 2025, Cashman didn’t look like the strong linebacker of the last two years. His overall PFF grade dipped from 72.0 to 63.6, punctuated by his 48.6 PFF coverage grade.”
“Nevertheless, he was good as a downhill player with a 7.7% run stop rate and a 5.3% missed tackle clip. In light of Cashman’s decline as well as this being the final year of his contract, the Vikings drafted linebacker Jake Golday in the second round as well as extended Eric Wilson. That suggests that either he or Ivan Pace Jr. could have their days numbered in purple.”
So, yes, at its core, this is a PFF-driven hypothesis.
The Golday Draft Pick
The Vikings entered the 2026 offseason with meaty questions at off-ball linebacker. Eric Wilson was on tap for free agency; meanwhile, Ivan Pace Jr. was a restricted free agent. Minnesota had curiously released two rookie linebackers near the end of the 2025 regular season: Kobe King and Austin Keys.
In February, the depth chart was very much The Blake Cashman Show. Then, interim general manager Rob Brzezinski extended Wilson’s contract for two more years after his phenomenal 2025 campaign. Pace Jr. returned, too.
With Cashman, Wilson, and Pace Jr. in the mix, the ILB corps felt sufficient. But Minnesota chose to become even deeper, drafting Golday in Round 2, a spot where it reasonably could have chosen a safety, cornerback, center, or running back.
Therefore, Minnesota has a plan for Golday; spending 2nd-Round capital on a player isn’t done whimsically. It’s just that trading Cashman because of the Golday pick doesn’t quite add up. Cashman is productive.
Cashman Too Good to Trade?
Suppose Adame is correct, and the Vikings opt to trade Cashman to the Cowboys or elsewhere. The team would return to suspect ILB depth, relying on Wilson and Pace Jr. to start, with Golday in the chamber.
The Vikings might be able to limp by in that scenario, but it just seems like smarter roster construction to keep Cashman, who is an asset, not a bargaining chip. He tabulated 144 tackles in 13 games last year, a pace that would’ve translated to 188 in 17 contests. One hundred and eighty-eight tackles would’ve ranked ninth-most in NFL history in a single season. That’s no joke.
Cashman turned 30 two weeks ago. He likely has at least 3-5 solid years left.
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