5 players Vikings fans won't miss if they don't return in 2024

Player No. 5

Marcus Davenport - OLB

Marcus Davenport signed a one-year, $13 million contract last offseason with the Vikings to replace Za’Darius Smith on the edge.

While things went well when Davenport was on the field, his tenure with Minnesota got weird thanks to all of the things that happened off of it.

Davenport’s season got off on the wrong foot when he suffered an ankle injury during training camp.

After missing the season opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Davenport played four snaps against the Philadelphia Eagles before missing the following week against the Los Angeles Chargers and making his season debut in Week 4 against the Carolina Panthers.

PFF charted Davenport with seven pressures and two sacks over the next three games before he aggravated his ankle injury in a Week 7 win over the Chicago Bears.

Davenport never saw the field again, and there wound up being questions about his desire to play as the season came to a close.

With Davenport set to be a free agent this year, it’s unlikely the Vikings will push to bring him back.

It leaves Davenport as one of the biggest free-agent busts in franchise history and a player that fans won’t miss on next year’s team.