The Minnesota Vikings could be a target for one particular team looking to improve their linebacking unit between now and the NFL trade deadline. Minnesota has a lot riding on the 2026 NFL season, given that the team is ready to win now and some veterans are pending free agents.
Blake Cashman is entering the final year of his three-year contract that he signed in 2024. Minnesota will have to decide whether to extend the 30-year-old linebacker or let him walk as a free agent.
Nonetheless, there’s also another scenario in which the Vikings’ 2026 season doesn’t go as planned, and Cashman could become a trade piece for a contender.
If this situation were to happen, Austen Bundy of FanSided believes that the Dallas Cowboys should be in on Cashman after missing out on Jordyn Brooks, who signed an extension with the Miami Dolphins.
“The Minnesota Vikings are in a precarious position as the rest of the NFC North engages in an offensive arms race,” Bundy wrote in a July 20 article. “The team could be a surprise playoff contender with new QB Kyler Murray, or it could fall into the same mediocre category last year’s Detroit Lions were in. Good on paper but just not racking up enough wins at the end of the day.
“Linebacker Blake Cashman is an asset that could help the team prepare for either scenario after this season. Sending him to Dallas would return decent value at the trade deadline should the latter path be painfully obvious.”
What Could the Vikings Get for Blake Cashman In a Trade?
If the Vikings’ season goes as it did in 2025, what could the team want for a linebacker whose contract expires after the campaign? Bundy believes that two Day 3 picks would be enough for a team like the Cowboys to get a trade done if Minnesota does open up shop during the season.
“At 30 years old, Cashman may not be worth the investment of a second contract with Minnesota but can still bring in decent value rather than being allowed to walk in free agency next year,” Bundy added in his article.
“The Vikings could get the better of Dallas’ two sixth-rounders and their own seventh-rounder back in the swap, especially if the market is thin by the deadline. Cashman isn’t a huge name, but with Brooks off the market, he should be at the top of the bargain bin list.”
Minnesota also has a new general manager in Nolan Teasley, who didn’t sign Cashman. Moreover, he comes over from the Seattle Seahawks, who weren’t afraid to flip an aging asset such as Geno Smith for draft capital.
Cowboys Would Make Sense for Blake Cashman
Last season for the Vikings, Cashman played 789 total snaps for Flores while earning a 63.6 overall PFF defensive grade, recording 95 solo tackles and generating 19 total pressures, including three sacks as a blitzer.
As a result, Bundy notes that this production is what the Cowboys need to bolster their linebacking group.
“After sending Micah Parsons away, Jerry Jones continues to add big names to fill the hole he left behind,” Bundy noted. “First it was Kenny Clark in the original trade, then fellow Green Bay Packer Rashan Gary and drafting first-rounder Malachi Lawrence.
“Getting Cashman for a pair of late-round picks (one of which originally belonged to Minnesota) would be a steal. Dallas should be grabbing every available defender it can get to capitalize on its already prominent offense.”
Cowboys, Vikings Receive Compelling Blake Cashman Trade Idea