Vikings’ Marcus Davenport Officially Placed on Injured Reserve

NFL: Minnesota Vikings at Carolina Panthers
Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

The Minnesota Vikings officially placed (EDGE) Marcus Davenport, on injured reserve Wednesday, meaning the 27-year-old pass-rusher is not eligible for the team’s active roster for at least four weeks.

After the four weeks is up, players can be taken off IR, and still have 21 days to practice with their team, before they are required to be activated to the 53-man roster. With the spot that opened, as a result of Davenport hitting IR, the Vikings activated RB Kene Nwangwu who was in his post IR 3-week practice window.

Marcus Davenport placed on Injured Reserve

Ian Rapoport (NFL Network) reported on Monday night that the oft-injured former New Orleans Saint was expected to land on injured reserve. Rapoport’s initial report put Davenport’s recovery time as 4-6 weeks.

Related: Behind Scenes, Vikings Readily Fielding Flood of Trade Offers for Key Players

The Vikings signed Davenport early last offseason, as a legitimate threat for offensive lines to deal with, opposite Danielle Hunter. When available, he completely changes the dynamic of Minnesota’s defense.

Much like Hunter, he’s an athletic anomaly, standing at 6’6″, 265 pounds with agility, speed and power that neither physics nor chemistry can reasonably explain.

Signing backfiring on Minnesota Vikings all season

But you’re only as good as your availability and we’re talking about a supposedly key defensive player who has not been available for the Minnesota Vikings very often, since his signing. An injury to his other ankle kept Marcus sidelined for most of the first three weeks, before he was briefly able to showcase his obvious talent in weeks 4 and 5.

Unfortunately, that impressive 1st impression didn’t last more than 2.5 weeks. And now, his numbers on the season (3 starts, 118 snaps, 7 tackles, 2 sacks) will remain dormant through, at least, week 10.

Related: Minnesota Vikings Defense Rankings 2023 – Week 7

Again, numbers only tell so much of the story. Marcus is well-worth his contract, likely much more, if healthy. But that is not reality and the Vikings are going to pay for this signing the rest of this season.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

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