The mystery that is Marcus Davenport is now another team’s puzzle to solve.
Davenport, who alternated between flashing superstar potential and spending an unfortunate amount of time on the injury list in five seasons with the New Orleans Saints, agreed a free agent contract with the Minnesota Vikings Monday evening, according to an NFL Network report.
The contract will reportedly pay Davenport $13 million for the 2023 season, giving him an opportunity to realize his potential and cash in on an even bigger deal next season.
The Saints were content with letting Davenport test the market after his up and down tenure with the team. He was at times their best defensive player, and at other times their most disappointing.
New Orleans saw that potential early, trading both their 2018 and 2019 first-round picks (Nos. 27 and 30) to the Green Bay Packers to move up to No. 14 in the 2018 draft so they could select Davenport.
But Davenport’s health often got in the way of realizing his promise in New Orleans, as he never played more than 13 games in each of his first four seasons. The injuries further got in the way of his development, with Davenport missing extended periods of the off-season to recover.
When he was on the field, he was dominant. Davenport recorded a career-best nine sacks in 2021 (in 11 games), showing off an intoxicating combination of strength and athleticism.
But the same issue popped up last offseason, as Davenport missed extensive time recovering from a shoulder injury and complications from surgery on his finger. He showed up to training camp out of shape, having not been able to go through the usual off-season routine.
Davenport played in a career-high 15 games last season, but had little to show for it statistically, with half a sack and two tackles for loss.
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