Infamous Vikings Free Agent Bust Lands on IR
In 2023, the Minnesota Vikings acquired cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. in free agency, a player who has since emerged as a Pro Bowler under Brian Flores. The front office was also examining the market for some pass-rushing help, and they hoped to find it in Marcus Davenport, previously of the New Orleans Saints.
Infamous Vikings Free Agent Bust Lands on IR
Saints fans quickly warned their Minnesota counterparts that injuries could be a problem. Davenport has struggled to stay healthy throughout his career, and the Detroit Lions are encountering that experience for the second consecutive year.
Eric Woodyard, ESPN, reported on Monday, “Hours ahead of their prime-time game in Baltimore on Monday night, the Detroit Lions placed veteran defensive end Marcus Davenport on the injured reserve list with a chest injury. He will miss at least four games, but Lions coach Dan Campbell said he doesn’t think the injury will be season-ending.”
The Vikings, in the first season with Flores calling the shots, wanted a wingman for Danielle Hunter, Minnesota’s master quarterback hunter. Davenport was available for a one-year deal, worth $13 million. Two ankle injuries slowed him down, and he was limited to only four games (three starts). In one of those contests, he immediately left.
Davenport recorded a pair of sacks and seven tackles in a Vikings uniform. Unsurprisingly, the Vikings moved on rather quickly from their rental defender. He left in free agency, and the Detroit Lions decided to give him a shot. Last year, Davenport played only two games as a part of Detroit’s injury avalanche on the defensive side of the ball.
Despite all of that, they re-signed him and repeated the experiment. Davenport missed Week 3 and is out for at least the following three contests.
Woodyard added, “Davenport started both games to begin this season but was injured during the Week 2 win over Chicago. In 2024, he suffered a season-ending torn triceps injury in Week 3 against Arizona, but the Lions decided to run it back with him on a one-year deal to try to upgrade their defense. Injuries have been a common issue for Davenport since he entered the league as a first-round pick by the New Orleans Saints in 2018.”
In his first seven seasons (from 2018 to 2024), Davenport played 71 games, having only played more than 13 in a season once (15 in 2022).
He entered the NFL in the 2018 draft. A highly-touted player with outstanding test scores and athletic abilities, the Saints spent not only one but two first-round picks to secure his services to the benefit of the Green Bay Packers, who gladly accepted the trade offer.
Davenport played for the Saints in his first five seasons, logging a total of 63 contests but only once more than 13 games in a season. In year five, however, he somehow only generated 0.5 sacks in 15 games, and the Saints allowed him to test free agency.
That’s when the Vikings entered the story. General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah saw the potential of the explosive defender and took the bet, signing him to a relatively low-risk one-year contract with a whopping salary of $13 million.
Considering the level of play he provided early in his career, there was a good chance he might have outperformed that deal, but his injuries never gave him a shot at trying. Ultimately, he went down in history as a bust, and he has yet to set the record straight during his two-year stint in Detroit.
In the 2024 offseason, the Vikings replaced Hunter with Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel, and they are pleased with that duo.
The Vikings will face the Lions in Week 9. It remains to be seen whether Davenport will challenge Brian O’Neill and Christian Darrisaw. He turned 29 this month.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.