Vikings push back Marcus Davenport's contract void date

The Vikings and outside linebacker Marcus Davenport have agreed to push back the void date on Davenport’s contract, according to ESPN’s Kevin Seifert. It was scheduled to void on Monday. Instead, Davenport’s deal will officially void on March 13th — at the same time as the contracts of Kirk Cousins and Danielle Hunter.

This move gives the two sides a another three weeks and change “to see if there is any common ground,” as Seifert said. The Vikings did the same last year with defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson, who ended up signing a big multi-year contract with the Browns. If Davenport doesn’t return to Minnesota for another year, they’ll have $6.8 million in dead money on their salary cap this season. They could also end up with major dead cap charges for Cousins and Hunter.

Davenport’s one-year deal with the Vikings in 2023 turned out to be a major flop. He only played two full games and parts of two others due to ankle injuries. Late in the year, there were questions about his desire to return to the field. Davenport was effective when he was out there, recording two sacks in those two full games, but he just couldn’t stay on the field. Given his history of injuries during his time with the Saints, it would be difficult to project a clean slate of health for him in 2024.

It has seemed like a foregone conclusion for a while that Davenport won’t be back in Minnesota for a second season, but maybe there’s a world where his market is so down that he returns on a cheap one-year deal. If that happens, the Vikings could spread out that $6.8 million in signing bonus charges instead of having it hit their books as dead money.

Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

Thanks for reading. Make sure to bookmark this site and check back daily for the latest Vikings news and analysis all season long.

Subscribe to the Inside the Vikings newsletter

Follow Will Ragatz on X/Twitter