Kyle Van Noy landing spots: Free agent EDGE open to Ravens return, also eyes 49ers

With the NFL Draft complete, opportunities to fill roster needs between now and the start of the 2026 season are dwindling. Teams in search of edge rushers only have a few directions in which they can search. One of those options is a proven havoc-wreaker in Kyle Van Noy, who said Tuesday on “Up & Adams” that he has “never been more motivated to play football” and is eyeing a couple of specific teams.

Among those squads is the Baltimore Ravens, with which Van Noy spent the last three seasons and took his game to new heights with a career-best 12.5-sack campaign in 2024. Van Noy said the door to a return remains open and that he has a “great relationship” with team leadership. With the summer approaching and no deal in place, though, the free agent is keeping his options open.

“I’m just motivated for all the people that think I’m done and all those things,” Van Noy said. “I’m gonna get double-digit sacks for whoever picks me up. That’s my energy and that’s my mindset, and I’m excited to do it with whichever team wants to come pick me up. You could say whatever you want. ‘No one wants a 35-year-old. I promise, you want this 35-year-old.”

Here are six ideal landing spots for Van Noy as he gears up for his 13th NFL season.

Baltimore Ravens

Van Noy gave the Ravens every reason to not bring him back as he finished the 2025 season with two sacks and four tackles for loss, both of which were his fewest since 2016. The first two years of his stint in Baltimore, however, featured some of the best football of his career. He would not be the first veteran to bounce back from a down year if he did so in 2026, and the Ravens would benefit greatly from that as they seek an elusive breakthrough.

“I know they’re going to try to go for it,” Van Noy said. “Lamar, his situation with his contract, who knows what they got going on with that. I think they should go all-in again, and I want to be a part of that. But I’m excited for this process. I really am. I’m just gonna be ready to go. I’m in the gym all the time. I’m the best I’ve ever been in shape. I’m excited.”

One major offseason move made Van Noy expendable, though. The Ravens acquired Trey Hendrickson in a division-rattling signing. He represents a massive influx of pass-rushing ability, which reduces the need to re-sign Van Noy.

“I love my teammates that I played there with,” Van Noy said. “The relationship that I’ve grown with Lamar and Derrick Henry and Mark Andrews. Nate Wiggins, I’m super excited to see him and this new defense and how he’s going to play. Just so many guys that I’ve grown with over the last three seasons and kind of took on that ‘big bro’ role.”

San Francisco 49ers

Last year’s bevy of injuries made apparent the need for more depth on the edge in San Francisco. With season-ending ailments to defensive ends Nick Bosa and Mykel Williams and linebacker Fred Warner, the 49ers saw tons of firepower on the defensive front go on the shelf and struggled to pressure the pocket as a result. Even if that trio returns to full strength early in the 2026 season, the unit could still benefit from an addition.

Joey Bosa remains on the market and would be an enticing target because of his familial ties to the roster, but Van Noy made it very clear he wants to join this squad.

“I’d really like to play with my little brother Fred Warner with the Niners,” Van Noy said. “I think they got something cooking over there. I know they love Joey Bosa because of Nick and all that. I get that. But I would love to play with my little brother. That’s my guy.”

Pittsburgh Steelers

T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, Nick Herbig and Jack Sawyer offer plenty of production to the Pittsburgh Steelers, but CBS Sports’ Ryan Wilson is not so convinced this edge rusher group is complete. He tabbed the Steelers as the top landing spot for Van Noy because of his versatility and the prospect of him adding veteran leadership to the locker room amid a coaching change. 

“They don’t have a ton of depth,” Wilson said on CBS Sports HQ. “Steelers fans would tell you they do at edge rusher. They don’t.”

The path to the lineup is murkier in Pittsburgh than in other places, which appears to be a roadblock in Van Noy’s potential signing with the Steelers.

“I would like the thought of that, but I don’t know how much I would play with all those guys they have,” Van Noy said about the idea of playing in the Steel City.

Cincinnati Bengals

The Cincinnati Bengals just watched Hendrickson leave to join the Ravens, so they need help on the edge. They might not have to look far to find his replacement.

“How crazy would that be; Trey Hendrickson and myself switch teams?” Van Noy said. “It could work.”

Cincinnati has been in rough shape defensively the last few seasons and made bolstering that unit a priority this offseason. Boye Mafe, Jonathan Allen and Bryan Cook signed with the Bengals at the start of free agency, and Dexter Lawrence arrived ahead of the draft in a potentially difference-making trade. There is still room for another edge rusher on this depth chart, though, as Myles Murphy projects as a starter but has yet to post consecutive productive seasons in his young three-year career.

Chicago Bears

While the Chicago Bears finished in the bottom third of the league in sacks and pressure rate last season, they have yet to land a meaningful edge rusher through free agency. They also neglected the position in the draft despite this being a deep class. Keyshaun Elliott, a fifth-rounder, represents the closest thing to an edge rusher the Bears took in the draft but figures to stick in the lineup as an off-ball linebacker rather than a havoc-wreaker at the line of scrimmage.

One-half of the starting tandem is locked in with Montez Sweat back for 2026, but he needs a partner, and Van Noy can be that running mate. Both present 10-sack upside and boast ample experience.

New Orleans Saints

If the New Orleans Saints sign an aging edge rusher from the free agent market, it would make the most sense for that guy to be Cameron Jordan. He spent the first 15 years of his career with this franchise, wants to play again in 2026 and just proved last season he can still hit the 10-sack mark. Negotiations have not progressed enough to get a deal done, however, so it is possible Jordan departs or simply hangs up his cleats.

In the event Jordan does not run it back with the Saints, the edge-rushing unit will suffer. The only insurance New Orleans picked up this offseason is Tyree Wilson, a former top-10 pick who never reached his potential in three years with the Las Vegas Raiders. Wilson could take that next step following a change of scenery, but Van Noy is a more sure thing.