Vikings signing former Saints DE Marcus Davenport to one-year, $13M deal

The Minnesota Vikings are landing one of the premium pass rushers on the open market.

Minnesota is signing former New Orleans Saints defensive end Marcus Davenport to a one-year deal worth $13 million, NFL Network Insiders Ian Rapoport, Tom Pelissero and Mike Garafolo reported Monday.

The No. 14 overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft, Davenport is a mercurial talent who was slotted as the No. 17 free agent in Gregg Rosenthal’s top 101 list.

Davenport played a career-high 15 games last season for the Saints, but tallied just half a sack after racking up a career-high nine the season prior.

Having made the majority of their offseason news by releasing mainstays such as wide receiver Adam Thielen and linebacker Eric Kendricks, the Vikings are adding some fresh talent into the mix. Nonetheless, Davenport’s addition could spell a Vikings divorce with Za’Darius Smith, who’s made it known he’d like to move on from the squad.

A strong presence on the edge with the ability to be a game-breaker, Davenport will look to make a splash in Minnesota and potentially land a longer and more lucrative deal next season.

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With the uncertainty surrounding the edge position for the Minnesota Vikings, they were likely going to address it in some way. Per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Vikings have agreed to terms with former New Orleans Saints edge rusher Marcus Davenport on a one year, $13 million deal.

The move is an interesting one as the Vikings still have both Za’Darius Smith and Danielle Hunter on the roster. However, Smith has requested his release on what is viewed as a strictly financial play.

As far as Davenport is concerned, he feels like what Flores had in Trey Flowers and Emmanuel Ogbah. A player that is talented and is build for power over speed. In 63 games, Davenport has 21.5 career sacks and 25 passes defended.

The terms of that $13 million contract will tell us how much they believe in Davenport, especially with his injury history.