With the Minnesota Vikings in 2023, multiple injuries caused edge rusher Marcus Davenport to miss 13 of the team's 17 games. This year, an injury could potentially result in Davenport's first season with the Detroit Lions being over after just three contests.
Lions head coach Dan Campbell revealed on Monday that the veteran pass rusher could miss the remainder of the 2024 campaign after he sustained an elbow injury midway through the team's win over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.
Campbell said on Monday that Davenport's injury "looks like a season-ender," but he also mentioned that the former Vikings defender is still getting "some other opinions on " before the door is officially closed on him returning to the field this year.
Former Minnesota Vikings edge rusher Marcus Davenport can't escape the injury bug in first year with Detroit Lions
During the 2023 offseason, Minnesota signed Davenport in free agency to potentially become a vital part of the team's defense under new defensive coordinator Brian Flores. But the former first-round draft pick couldn't even make it to the Vikings' regular-season opener without being held back by an injury.
Davenport wound up sitting out Minnesota's Week 1 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after suffering an ankle injury in practice a few days before the matchup. He attempted to play in the Vikings' Week 2 game against the Philadelphia Eagles, but he only lasted four snaps before needing to come off the field because of his injured ankle.
Davenport remained on the sideline for Minnesota's Week 3 game, and then when they took on the Carolina Panthers in Week 4, he was finally able to show everyone why the Vikings made him one of their first free-agent signings of the offseason.
He wound up finishing with four tackles (one for a loss) and one sack in Minnesota's Week 4 win over the Panthers, and it seemed like he was on his way to having a productive season with the Vikings.
Just two weeks later, however, Davenport suffered an ankle injury in Minnesota's Week 6 win over the Chicago Bears, and he didn't appear in another game for the Vikings for the rest of the 2023 season.
He became a free agent again this past March, and Minnesota decided not to bring him back. Eventually, Davenport landed a one-year contract with the Lions worth $6.5 million.
Like the Vikings in 2023, Detroit had high hopes for the veteran pass rusher this season. But, once again, injuries have prevented Davenport from meeting his expectations this year.
He was inactive for the Lions' Week 2 win loss to the Bucs because of a groin injury, and now, after injuring his elbow on Sunday, his tenure with Detroit might actually be over quicker than it was with Minnesota.