DE Marcus Davenport to sign with Minnesota Vikings

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Defensive end Marcus Davenport is expected to sign with the Minnesota Vikings for a one-year deal worth $13 million, according to a report from NFL Network. 

Davenport had played his entire five-year career with New Orleans, where he earned a PFWA All-Rookie Honor in 2018. In 63 career games, he has recorded 60 quarterback hits, seven forced fumbles and 21.5 sacks. 

Davenport didn’t have much of a market, even with limited edge options available. The Vikings are counting on him to return to his 2021 levels — nine sacks — and not a disappointing 2022 in which he finished with 0.5 sacks and had just two tackles for loss in 490 defensive snaps.

The Saints were well over the cap and added quarterback Derek Carr on a four-year, $150 million deal, so they needed to clear space. New Orleans selected the 26-year-old Davenport No. 14 overall in the 2018 draft out of UTSA. 

Davenport comes in at No. 21 in the FOX Sports top 50 free-agent rankings.

Analysis From FOX Sports' free-agent rankings:

There are tons of concerns with Davenport, including his injury history (hand, calf in 2022) and the fact that he had just a half sack for the Saints (down from nine in 2021). He's a good run-stopper, though, and he creates a lot of pressure, even if he doesn't often finish it. The upside: He's only 26, and this is a generally terrible edge-rusher class.

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