Another injury claimed the potential of Marcus Davenport breaking out, but is there room for a reunion next season?
Our 2025 Detroit Lions free agent series continues. We’re breaking down each and every single decision the team must make with their pending free agent class ahead of this offseason including what their expectations were coming into the 2024 season, how they performed, and ultimately their chances of returning to Detroit for the next season.
Next up in the series is Marcus Davenport, a player who barely got his season off the ground before ending up back on injured reserve.
Here’s a look at our previously written free agent profiles: QB Teddy Bridgewater , WR Allen Robinson , WR Tim Patrick , G Kevin Zeitler , OT Dan Skipper , EDGE Al-Quadin Muhammad , DT Levi Onwuzurike , DT Pat O’Connor , DT Kyle Peko , LB Derrick Barnes , CB Carlton Davis , CB Emmanuel Moseley , CB Kindle Vildor , CB Khalil Dorsey , S Ifeatu Melifonwu, and K Michael Badgley .
Marcus Davenport
Expectations heading into 2024
The Detroit Lions entered the 2024 offseason with their top-snapping edge defenders from 2023 in tow: Aidan Hutchinson (90% of defensive snaps), John Cominsky (52%), and Josh Paschal (37%) were all set to return. But with Romeo Okwara and Charles Harris both bound for free agency—and Julian Okwara leaving for a chance with the Philadelphia Eagles —Detroit was in need of not only a reliable fourth veteran, but an upgrade who could more consistently take advantage of the attention offenses were giving to Hutchinson and Alim McNeill.
Finding a player like that proves to be difficult in free agency. Effective and productive edge rushers rarely hit the open market, so it was going to require Brad Holmes and Rob Lohman, the Lions director of pro scouting, to do some real digging to find a player who could fit that description. Marcus Davenport fit the bill.
“Listen, this man fits exactly who we want to be on defense,” Glenn said in September about Davenport. “Especially playing outside of (Lions DL Aidan Hutchinson) Hutch. He’s a violent, he’s a physical, he’s an athletic big man that plays the game the right way. So, you’re absolutely right—if you’ve got a guy like that that can bull rush and that can condense the pocket, that allows Hutch and other guys to go to work, and we expect that.”
After suffering an injury in 2023 that resulted in the Minnesota Vikings choosing not to re-up with the veteran edge rusher, Davenport represented an opportunity to strike that balance between value and forgotten potential. Aaron Glenn’s overlap with Davenport in New Orleans with the Saints further cemented that confidence in taking a chance on a guy who had racked up 9.0 sacks and 42 pressures in just 11 games back in 2021.
Actual role in 2024
2 games (1 start): 2 tackles, 7 pressures, 4 quarterback hits, 0.5 sacks—89 snaps (154th out of 210 edge defenders)
PFF Defensive grade: 53.1 (t-161st out of 210 edge defenders)
PFF Run Defense grade: 53.4 (t-163rd out of 210)
PFF Pass Rush grade: 64.4 (86th out of 210)
PFF Tackling grade: 74.4 (18th out of 210)
The greatest ability remains availability, and that’s just not Davenport’s strong suit. From a Lisfranc fracture in 2019 to shoulder injuries in 2021 and then a high-ankle sprain that cost him 11 games in 2023, the time spent off the field continued to pile up in 2024. Davenport suffered torn triceps in Week 3’s game against the Arizona Cardinals and that ended his season in Detroit.
His injury would kick off a string of bad injury luck that would end up defining Detroit’s season in the end, but we saw the upside if not for a brief, fleeting moment in Week 1. Six pressures, a couple of quarterback hits, and a 0.5 sack in his Lions debut showed what he could bring to the table when healthy.
Outlook for 2025
Contract status: Unrestricted free agent
Davenport is set to enter free agency for the third time in his seven-year career after signing a one-year, $6.5 million deal last offseason with Detroit.
Pros of re-signing
Granted it was gone in a flash, but we saw the kind of football player Davenport is when he’s healthy and on the field. He’s the type of lengthy pocket-crusher the Lions prefer on the edge, and re-signing Davenport as a contingency plan—to a price-appropriate deal—is akin to how Detroit handled a similar situation with Emmanuel Moseley last offseason.
Cons of re-signing
The injury history is more than concerning at this point. They’ve been so consistent through his career that he’s played in just 69 of 116 possible regular season games, and just six of the last 34 over the past two seasons. Re-signing Davenport to any sort of guaranteed money feels like a real gamble, so putting him on the roster and counting on him to be a contributor would almost necessitate Detroit having a plan for when—not if—he is sidelined with another injury.
Is there interest from both sides?
Davenport stuck around in Detroit despite his season ending in September, and he kept up appearances throughout the season. Glenn’s departure for New York might play a factor in whether or not Davenport is open to returning to Detroit, or perhaps he heads east for an opportunity with the Jets given that coaching change.
Cost?
At this point in Davenport’s career, he’s looking for his third prove-it deal before he even turns 29. Anything more than the veteran’s minimum for Davenport—just north of $1 million—would be too risky and substantial of a proposition for a contender like the Lions to take a chance on.
Conclusion
Detroit took a calculated chance on Davenport, and it just didn’t work out. Between trading for Carlton Davis, signing Amik Robertson, and using their first two draft picks on Terrion Arnold and Ennis Rakestraw, the Lions poured the majority of their offseason resources last year into fortifying the cornerback position. There’s no way of telling which edge rushers had first-round grades from the Lions last year, but considering their approach to the draft, revamping the secondary was clearly the priority.
This offseason, the defensive line—and the edge position specifically—is the top priority on defense. Whether Detroit is aggressive in pursuing an upgrade at the position through free agency, the draft, or via a trade, Davenport likely doesn’t factor into that equation.