The Detroit Lions are bringing back Marcus Davenport after injuries cost him most of the 2024 season.
Davenport, who signed a one-year deal last offseason to come to Detroit, inked a new one-year deal worth $4.75 million with the Lions to return for the 2025 season. The veteran defender will compete for snaps to work opposite of Aidan Hutchinson on the Lions’ defensive line.
The veteran defender played in just two games with the Lions last season. A groin injury forced him to miss the team’s Week 2 game against Tampa Bay, and he suffered a torn triceps in Week 3 against Arizona that cost him the remainder of the season.
Davenport finished the year with a half-sack and two combined tackles. Injuries have limited him throughout his career, as he has played 69 career games in seven seasons.
Originally a first-round pick of the New Orleans Saints, Davenport came to Detroit after playing four games for the Minnesota Vikings in 2023. In his career, he has 24 sacks, 151 combined tackles and four passes defensed.
Davenport’s best season came in 2021 with the Saints, as he had nine sacks in 11 games played. His ties to Lions coach Dan Campbell and former defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn helped draw him to Detroit originally, as both were on staff in New Orleans when Davenport began his career with the team in 2018.
Lions general manager Brad Holmes has operated similarly to this in the past, as he re-signed cornerback Emmanuel Moseley last offseason after he suffered a season-ending injury in his only game with the team in 2023.