The Vikings defense had the upper hand on Friday, Aug. 7.
They won five of eight third-down drills, forcing incompletions and punts.
Then came a red-zone drill: ball at the 6-yard line, quarterback Kyler Murray and the starting offense facing the starting defense.
Murray dropped back and tried to find an opening, but linebacker Blake Cashman and defensive tackle Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins slashed through the offensive line to force immediate pressure. Whistles blew and the play was deemed a sack.
Cashman, the 30-year-old veteran and key cog of coordinator Brian Flores’ adaptable system, grabbed Ingram-Dawkins afterward for a teaching moment. While they both crashed through the line, Ingram-Dawkins missed a pre-snap adjustment that may have put them in an even better position.
“When certain motions happen,” Ingram-Dawkins said, “we can adjust our assignment and switch to something else. He was just telling me to be alert for certain things and stay on point.”
Moments like that show Cashman’s value to the Vikings defense extends beyond what takes place on tape.
How much the Vikings value the full picture will become important soon. Cashman is entering the final year of his contract, and there have been no extension talks to this point, he told the Minnesota Star Tribune.
The former Eden Prairie and Gophers standout does not want his homecoming to end.
“I love being here as a Minnesota Viking,” Cashman said. “I don’t want to be anywhere else.”
“But, of course, I’m at a point in my career where I’m honest,” he added. “I got less time ahead than I do behind me. But I think I still have gas in the tank, and I want to hopefully finish my career here.”
Cashman made a career-high 144 tackles last season, ninth-most among all NFL defenders. He remains a linchpin of the Vikings defense, having led the team in tackles in back-to-back seasons after signing a three-year, $22.5 million contract in free agency in March 2024.
Flores put Cashman in a core group of defensive leaders that includes outside linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel, safety Joshua Metellus, cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. and defensive tackle Jalen Redmond.
“He’s even a little bit like a coach on the field,” Flores said, “in the sense of, ‘Hey, you do this really well. When we run a [D-line twist], you should do this with power versus finesse or speed.’ … He’s able to coach those guys on the field and really watch film with them in a way that gets them to understand what we’re trying to do.”
The Vikings defense jettisoned multiple veterans this offseason — namely Jonathan Greenard, Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave — and Harrison Smith has not publicly announced whether he’ll return for a 15th NFL season. But Cashman remains the “ultimate lead-by-example guy,” Metellus said.
Cashman always shows up to “Java Jams” on Saturday mornings during the season. It’s the Vikings’ weekly players meeting in the training room where there’s one rule: Don’t talk about football. It’s centered around coffee and conversation, replacing the Saturday doughnut club under former coach Mike Zimmer.
“We’ll put a quote up or question up to spark a conversation,” Metellus said. “Guys like Cash make those things go. Guys who show up every day. They want to be team guys. They want to spread their joy around the team.”
Now a father and soon to be married, Cashman has shifting priorities.
Entering their third season together, Van Ginkel said Cashman has “chilled out.”
He’s also still adjusting his offseason training regimen, trying to work smarter, not harder. Cashman said that’s why he “feels better” this camp compared to last year.
“Maybe changing some things I did in the offseason,” he said. “Still getting the necessary work and conditioning but putting less stress on the body.”
When Cashman said he wants to finish his career with the Vikings, he envisions that lasting “at least” another three seasons until he reaches the 10-year mark in the NFL. That is a “real possibility,” Cashman said, and one that seemed far-fetched after his first few years in the league.
Cashman, a 2019 fifth-round pick by the New York Jets, was undercut by injuries early in his career. He appeared in just 14 of a possible 49 games his first three seasons with the Jets. He’s since played in 57 of a possible 68 games over the last four seasons with the Texans and Vikings.
His legs, Cashman said, are better for those early absences now.
“That was time not putting stress on my body,” he said. “Where I missed time on the front end, I feel like I can gain on the back end. That’s how I look at it.”