Marcus Davenport joined the New Orleans Saints with plenty of fanfare, but his departure from the team in free agency was disappointing for both sides; he left town for the Minnesota Vikings with a lot of regret over how his time in New Orleans ended, having bagged just half a sack (split with his veteran teammate Cameron Jordan) in 15 games. He was ejected from the regular season finale after a fight with a Carolina Panthers player.
Injuries cost Davenport 20 games with the Saints from 2018 to 2022, including the playoffs, limiting him to 67 of their 87 contests. And when he was available, he was far from consistent. He left the Saints with fewer sacks in five years (21.5) than T.J. Watt did in 2021 alone (22.5). But he’s trying to see this as an opportunity to fuel him moving forward.
“I’m still upset,” Davenport admitted during a surprisingly candid introductory press conference with Minnesota media. “But you know, that’s just fuel for the future. I kind of go over my play and see that I didn’t capitalize, as much as I would say that I had some success in matchups and was putting the pressures, but I wasn’t necessarily being the smartest player to know when to capitalize and how to capitalize, using my teammates, using the scheme and just overall winning.”
That’s the right attitude to have. Davenport didn’t justify the bold draft-day trade the Saints made to acquire him back in 2018, but now he doesn’t have to. He and the Saints are both moving in different directions. Hopefully better days are ahead for both sides.
