Bears Meet With DE Marcus Davenport

The 6-foot-6, 285-pound Davenport began his career eight years ago in New Orleans, which selected him 14th overall in the 2018 draft. Davenport played his entire five-year run with the Saints under Dennis Allen, who is now the Bears’ defensive coordinator. Allen was the Saints’ DC for Davenport’s first four years and their head coach for the pass rusher’s last season with the team.

Despite missing between two and six games in each of his Saints seasons, Davenport had the most productive years of his career in their uniform. He was at his best in 2023, when he racked up career highs in tackles (39), quarterback hits (16), TFL (nine) and sacks (nine) despite playing just 11 games.

Davenport played 2022 on his fifth-year option, which the Saints exercised for $9.55MM in the spring of ’21. Although he totaled a personal-high 15 appearances, Davenport only managed a half-sack. He also dipped to 29 tackles, eight QB hits and two TFL.

Despite his unremarkable last season with the Saints, the Vikings gave Davenport a one-year, $13MM deal with $10MM in guarantees when he hit free agency in 2023. Davenport recorded four QB hits, two TFL and a pair of sacks in his first four games with the Vikings, but he went on IR with a high ankle sprain in mid-October and missed the rest of the season.

Davenport stayed in the NFC North in 2024, though he left Minnesota to sign with Detroit on a one-year, $6.5MM pact. The contract could have maxed out at $10.5MM, but he suffered a torn triceps in Week 3 and sat out the remainder of the season.

The Lions gave it another shot with Davenport on a one-year agreement with just $1.65MM in guaranteed money in 2025. Once again, though, he could not stay healthy. Davenport was out of commission for over two months as a result of a late-September pectoral strain. In the eight games he suited up for, the 29-year-old tallied 14 tackles, three QB hits and a sack.

While the Bears have just $4.29MM in cap space, there is enough in the coffers to bring in Davenport on an inexpensive flier. It may be a long shot, but even a somewhat healthy version of Davenport could improve a defense that tied for 26th in sacks and ranked 31st in pass rush win rate last year. The Bears’ pass rush remains a question mark after they did little to address it during the offseason.