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Irksome Injury Hits Vikings Defender with Training Camp Days Away
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- Irksome Injury Hits Vikings Defender with Training Camp Days Away
Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports
On the field, Blake Cashman is an excellent part of the overall Sunday effort. His great issue is being healthy enough to stay on the field .
Word has emerged of the Vikings defender again dealing with injury. More specifically, there's a finger problem. The update began circulating on social media as a news aggregator account called "The Purple Persuasion" attributed the news to KTSP's Darren Wolfson, a plugged-in Vikings reporter who was offering the news for SKOR North . A game of telephone took place on social media but Wolfson did respond to the post , doing so to affirm Cashman's abilities as a player. The social media post does clarify that Cashman should be ready to roll for training camp.
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Vikings Defender Blake Cashman Still Getting Healthy
Nobody gets through NFL football unscathed . Injury is more of a matter of when rather than if . What can differ, though, is the frequency and severity of the ailment. These factors then work toward a player needing time off or being able to push through.
Cashman, unfortunately, gets hurt more than most.
The veteran linebacker played a full season once. In 2019, Cashman got drafted at No. 157 overall, going in the 5th to the New York Jets. He has since seen his total games get to sixteen just a single time: the 2022 season where he started a single game and played just 149 snaps on defense. He hasn't been able to play seventeen games, the new normal for the NFL.
Jun 10, 2025; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings linebacker Blake Cashman (51) practices during minicamp at the Minnesota Vikings Training Facility. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images
Since coming to Minnesota , Cashman has been involved in fourteen games and 895 snaps in 2024. He then got into thirteen games for 790 snaps. Both seasons featured Brian Flores leaning on the linebacker a ton; Cashman was involved in 94% and then 96% of the defense's snaps.
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Smart, versatile, and athletic, Cashman is a great ball player. Coach Flores has a much easier time of matching up when the LB1 is out there. His only issue is availability, or lack thereof.
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At this stage, Cashman is very likely to be ready in time for Week 1. The Green Bay Packers will visit U.S. Bank Stadium for an early NFC North game to setup a quick lead in the division. Being able to put Cashman onto the field would obviously be a nice boost.
Is his roster spot fully secure, though? Where there could be skepticism is in his capacity to continue being available the vast majority of the time. He's moving into the final season of his three-year contract, meaning he could give back more than $7 million in cap space with a cut, per Over the Cap .
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Kwesi Adofo-Mensah — the GM who signed Cashman — isn't around anymore. Nolan Teasley is going to bring a fresh perspective as he shepherds the Vikings through inevitable change. Does that change involve moving on from the Vikings defender who was born in Eden Prairie before piling up tackles as a collegiate Golden Gopher?
Dec 29, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings safety Camryn Bynum (24) celebrates recovering a fumble by Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs (8) in the first quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin via Imagn Images. with Blake Cashman pictured.
Best guess is that Blake Cashman gets another year of employment with the Vikings. Keeping the off-ball linebacker spot stuffed full of talent frees guys like Eric Wilson and/or Jake Golday to get work as edge rushers, a position with some shaky depth.
The Minnesota Vikings begin welcoming talent to TCO Performance Center on Sunday. A key detail to monitor rests in the health of the roster. Keep swinging by Vikings Territory to learn about where things stand with Cashman, Caleb Banks, and the rest of the team.
