Minnesota Vikings Have a New Green Dot on Defense

By    |  
Updated:
Blake Cashman
Credit: Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Vikings have undergone plenty of turnover this offseason. A new quarterback is under center, and Brian Flores has lots of new weapons on defense. With changing players come changing responsibilities. Minnesota will rely on a different quarterback of the defense this year.

Hometown Blake Cashman rocks the dot for the Minnesota Vikings

Last year the Minnesota Vikings watched Ivan Pace Jr. come out of nowhere to be one of their best defensive players. The UDFA wound up starting at the linebacker position, and he eventually took over green dot duties as well. This season, that responsibility will be passed to free agent acquisition, and former Gopher, Blake Cashman.

“I don’t think I got the green dot right now. I think Cash got it. It don’t matter, I’m still going to go out there and ball…I’m good [with that]. Coaches have other plans. I’m gonna get in there and get it one day.”

Ivan Pace Jr. to Darren Wolfson on the green dot (KSTP)

The Eden Prairie native came home to Minnesota, by way of the Houston Texans. Prior to his time in the Lone Star State, he spent three seasons in New York, with the Jets. He joins former teammate, Jonathan Greenard, in making the move from Houston.

For those who don’t know, a green dot on player’s helmet means that their helmet has the defensive play-caller (Flores) wired in. It’s their job to receive the play call, then relay it to their teammates. On offense, that’s the QB. On defense, it can vary by team.

Brian Asamoah and Jordan Hicks were the starters out of the gate at linebacker in 2023. Pace Jr. ultimately took over for Asamoah, and once Hicks went down with injury, the UDFA was a logical choice to take over play-relaying duties.

Related: Vikings Beat Out a Bunch of Teams to Land Blake Cashman

What does Vikings encore look like for Ivan Pace Jr.?

Cashman has played in 44 games, over the course of his NFL career, including 21 starts. As a rookie Ivan Pace Jr. put up 102 tackles while starting just 11 of 17 games. He picked off a pass, forced a fumble, and recorded 2.5 sacks. All of that took place while juggling a bid for the starting lineup.

Unlike Cashman, Pace is still very much “wet behind the ears”, in terms of NFL experience. With the green dot now removed from his game day responsibilities, the former Cincinnati Bearcat could be in line for an even bigger season, now that he can focus more on his job, not others’.

“Oh yeah, we [Cashman] good man. He came over here and we connected real quick, better than what it was last year with the other backers. I think we’re gonna be good.”

Ivan Pace Jr. to Darren Wolfson on his relationship with Blake Cashman (KSTP)

Pace Jr.’s quotes suggest that he has a strong relationship with new teammate Blake Cashman. The two of them can play off that trust they will continue to develop with one another. The Vikings defense will always bring pressure as long as Brian Flores is in charge. The tandem at the linebacker spot could be a formidable source of that.

Related: Demon Time: No. 0 Hits Different on Ivan Pace Jr

The Vikings will get their first opportunity to show off the revamped defense on Sunday against Daniel Jones and the New York Giants.

Mentioned in this article:

More About: