Marcus Davenport’s Contract Details Offer Hints at the Vikings Future Plans
Josh Frey
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The Minnesota Vikings have been active over the past week, to say the least, in terms of bringing in new talent via free agency. In the first week they brought in a total of three new players as well as re-signed a number of players to new contracts.
And now over this past weekend, we saw some new contract details emerge regarding these recently signed Vikings. One such player is EDGE Marcus Davenport, whose contract appears to be very low-risk, high-reward for the Vikings.
Davenport’s contract that he signed with Minnesota is a one-year deal worth $13 million. However, now that Over the Cap has released the full details of this contract, we know exactly how that $13 million breaks down.
First and foremost, while $10 million of this contract is guaranteed, Davenport only counts for $5.9 million against the salary cap in 2023, meaning this is an extremely low-risk contract for the Vikings this year for a player that recorded 9.0 sacks as recently as 2021.
The rest of his $6.8 million cap hit is spread out amongst four void years from 2024-27. Each of these void years carry $1.7 million of “dead money”, meaning that as soon as Davenport is no longer on the roster, the entirety of this money will count against Minnesota’s salary cap. Essentially, if he joins a different team next season, the Vikings will have to eat all $6.8 million of that remaining money in 2024, which would sting, but it isn’t going to completely shift any plans.
This could indicate that the Vikings are banking on extending the pass rusher at some point in the next 12 months. An extension would ensure that this dead money never hits the books while keeping a talented player in a Vikings uniform through the remainder of his 20s.
However, in order to secure that extension, Davenport has to perform well this upcoming season. He has certainly had his inconsistencies throughout his career with the New Orleans Saints and struggled with injuries on occasion as well. He recorded just half a sack last season for the Saints in 15 games. This is a bit mis-leading, though, considering he has also posted top-20 marks in pass-rush win rate and pressure rate since entering the league.
This potential extension offers further evidence that Za’Darius Smith’s exit from the Vikings could come sooner than later as well. Smith recently asked to be released from the team, but that seems unlikely after $5 million of his contract for 2023 became guaranteed on Friday.
However, even if Smith remains on the team this season, it is increasingly unlikely that he will be around in 2024. He is set to carry a $21.6 million cap hit next year. If Davenport gets an extension, the Vikings can save $20 million of Smith’s cap hit by while retaining a starting caliber pass rusher on the edge in the younger Davenport.
In all, if the experiment with Davenport doesn’t work out this season, the Vikings are risking a marginal chunk of their cap space for next offseason. If it does work, though, they could have found a long-term starter for years to come.
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Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho with a bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.