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Marcus Davenport

Saints Restructure Marcus Davenport’s Deal

March 15th, 2022 at 3:00pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Saints’ journey to cap compliance is complete. They have moved under the $208MM cap, restructuring Marcus Davenport‘s deal to do so.

More than $8MM of Davenport’s 2022 $9.6MM base salary is now a signing bonus, per ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). This created more than $6MM of cap space for the Saints, who are perhaps in pole position to add a rather hefty contract to their payroll.

New Orleans and Carolina have been mentioned as the lead suitors for Deshaun Watson, who thus far has only been willing to waive his no-trade clause for these NFC South teams. However, a Browns meeting is also on Watson’s agenda. The Falcons have entered the fray as well. Watson does not sound especially thrilled about a Panthers fit. Fitting Watson’s contract onto their payroll will be tricky, but the Saints have navigated winter cap issues for years. They cleared more than $100MM off their payroll to move under the 2021 cap.

Watson’s contract calls for a $35MM base salary in 2022; that amount is guaranteed. The Saints are clearly confident they can create sufficient space for the embattled quarterback, whose civil cases have yet to be resolved.

New Orleans completed a restructure similar to Davenport’s last year, moving much of Marshon Lattimore‘s fifth-year option salary into a bonus. Lattimore has since signed a long-term extension. Davenport’s deal expires after the 2022 season.

Saints Shuffle Roster, Activate Three Players From IR

October 25th, 2021 at 6:40pm CST by Ben Levine

The Saints are welcoming back three players for tonight’s game against the Seahawks. Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football reports (via Twitter) that New Orleans is activating linebacker Kwon Alexander, defensive end Marcus Davenport, and wide receiver Tre’Quan Smith from IR. The three players returned to practice last week, and they’ll all be eligible to play tonight.

The Saints also promoted wideout Kevin White from the practice squad. To make room on the roster, the team released center Will Clapp and defensive tackle Albert Huggins (via Underhill on Twitter).

Alexander (elbow) and Davenport (shoulder) were both placed on IR in mid-September, while Smith (hamstring) landed on IR a bit earlier than that. The Saints moved Davenport back into their starting lineup to start this season, and he registered a sack and two QB hits in the Saints’ dominant Week 1 win over the Packers. Alexander worked his way back from a December Achilles tear to be ready in time for the Saints’ opener, but this latest injury continued a rough run of health for the former Buccaneers standout. Smith’s injury dogged him for several weeks, as he tried and failed to come back from it twice. It caused the former third-round pick to miss extensive training camp time.

White joined the Saints back in August, and he later landed on the team’s practice squad. The former first-round pick got into three games with the 49ers in 2020, but he only saw nine snaps on offense. Clapp was a seventh-round pick by the Saints in 2018, and he got into 27 games (four starts) through three-plus seasons with the team. Huggins has bounced around the NFL since going undrafted in 2019. He saw time in four games (one start) for the Saints this season, collecting seven tackles and two QB hits.

Saints Designate LB Kwon Alexander, DE Marcus Davenport, WR Tre’Quan Smith For Return

October 19th, 2021 at 5:19pm CST by Ben Levine

The Saints are about to get some reinforcement. The team designated linebacker Kwon Alexander, defensive end Marcus Davenport, and wide receiver Tre’Quan Smith for return from injured reserve today, reports NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero (via Twitter).

Alexander (elbow) and Davenport (shoulder) were both placed on IR in mid-September, meaning the earliest they could have returned was Week 5.

The Saints moved Davenport back into their starting lineup to start this season, providing the player with an opportunity to re-establish himself opposite Cameron Jordan. Davenport registered a sack and two QB hits in the Saints’ dominant Week 1 win over the Packers.

Alexander worked his way back from a December Achilles tear to be ready in time for the Saints’ opener, but this latest injury continued a rough run of health for the former Buccaneers standout. Alexander suffered a torn ACL in 2018, though he still landed a nice contract from the 49ers. However, the veteran linebacker sustained a pectoral muscle tear in his first 49ers season.

Smith landed on IR a bit earlier than his defensive teammates after suffering a hamstring injury. The injury dogged Smith for several weeks, as he tried and failed to come back from it twice. It caused the former third-round pick to miss extensive training camp time.

While the Saints will happily welcome back this trio, they’ll still be without one of the most notable players. While wideout Michael Thomas was eligible to return from PUP this week, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport notes (via Twitter) that there hasn’t been any news on his potential activation.

Saints Open Up Extra Cap Space

September 18th, 2021 at 10:04am CST by Ben Levine

The Saints have found a couple of ways to open extra cap space in recent weeks. ESPN’s Field Yates reports (via Twitter) that the organization reworked the contracts of cornerback Bradley Roby and defensive end Marcus Davenport.

[RELATED: Texans Trade Bradley Roby To Saints]

Roby’s restructuring comes on the heels of his trade to New Orleans earlier this month. After the Saints sent a 2022 third-round pick and a conditional 2023 choice to the Texans, they converted $847K of the player’s salary into a bonus. This move created a bit more than $677K in cap space. Per Aaron Wilson (on Twitter), this transaction was possible thanks to the Texans’ willingness to cover $7.58M of Roby’s salary and roster bonus.

The veteran’s cap hold in 2021 is now $1.18MM, but it’s a whopping $10.169MM in 2022. Roby also now has void years in 2023, 2024, 2025 at $25MM per year. The 29-year-old’s suspension ended earlier this week, meaning he should make his season debut this weekend.

Davenport also helped his team open some extra cap by converting $1.35MM of his salary into a bonus. Similar to Roby, the defensive end will also get three void years tacked on to the end of his contract. The move opens up about $1.08MM in cap space. Davenport started New Orleans’ season opener, collecting three tackles, two tackles for loss, and one sack. He was placed on IR this week after suffering a shoulder injury.

Saints Place Marcus Davenport, Kwon Alexander On IR

September 17th, 2021 at 3:40pm CST by Sam Robinson

Two Saints defensive starters will be sidelined until at least October. The Saints are placing Marcus Davenport and Kwon Alexander on IR, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.

Neither Davenport nor Alexander practiced this week due to shoulder and elbow injuries, respectively. They will not be able to return until New Orleans’ Week 5 game.

While Davenport was believed to have suffered a pectoral muscle strain in Week 1, the Saints listed the fourth-year defensive end on their injury report with a shoulder ailment. Davenport’s injury is not expected to keep him out especially long, but the Saints will nevertheless save a roster spot by moving him to IR.

The Saints moved Davenport back into their starting lineup to start this season, after having let Trey Hendrickson walk in free agency. Hendrickson signed with the Bengals, leaving Davenport an opportunity to re-establish himself opposite Cameron Jordan. Davenport registered a sack and two QB hits in the Saints’ dominant Week 1 win over the Packers. The Saints picked up Davenport’s fifth-year option in May.

Alexander worked his way back from a December Achilles tear to be ready in time for the Saints’ opener, but this continues a rough run of health for the former Buccaneers standout. Alexander suffered a torn ACL in 2018, though he still landed a nice contract from the 49ers. However, the veteran linebacker sustained a pectoral muscle tear in his first 49ers season. Alexander’s latest malady stands to increase second-year linebacker Zack Baun‘s workload, The Athletic’s Larry Holder tweets. The 2020 third-round pick played 23 defensive snaps in the team’s opener.

Injury Updates: Penny, Davenport, Taylor, Brown

September 13th, 2021 at 8:00pm CST by Ben Levine

Rashaad Penny has struggled to stay healthy during his brief NFL career, and the Seahawks running back suffered another injury on Sunday. Penny left the game early with a calf injury, and NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport tweets that the 25-year-old is expected to be “shut down for a few weeks” while he recovers. An IR stint could be a possibility for the running back.

Fortunately for the Seahawks, they’re rostering a handful of capable running backs behind Chris Carson, including DeeJay Dallas, Travis Homer and Alex Collins. Head coach Pete Carroll pointed to that depth when explaining why the team would be cautious during Penny’s recovery.

“He’s got a calf strain, so it’ll take us a bit to figure out what the return would be on that,” Carroll said (via the team’s website). “He ran really well when he ran the other night, so we’re going to miss him, it looks like this week, we won’t know. We’ll let you know how that goes. But Alex is ready to go, and both Homer and DeeJay, they’re ready to go too, so we’re in good shape. We had four running backs up this week, so we’re in pretty good shape at the position. Unfortunately, if it takes him a couple weeks, then we’ll figure out how to handle that.”

Penny, a 2018 first-round pick, appeared in only 13 games between the 2019 and 2020 seasons.

Some more injury notes from around the NFL:

  • Saints defensive end Marcus Davenport will be sidelined while he recovers from a pectoral strain, per Rapoport on Twitter. The pass rusher is expected to miss some time but “should be back sooner rather than later.” Following a disappointing 2020 campaign, Davenport was hoping for a bounce-back season in 2021. He was already on his way, as he compiled three tackles, one sack, two tackles for loss, and one QB hit before falling to his injury.
  • Texans defensive tackle Vincent Taylor suffered an ankle injury yesterday that will require surgery, according to Mark Berman of Fox26 in Houston (via Twitter). Taylor is expected to be sidelined for six weeks. Taylor signed a one-year contract with Houston this offseason, and he started Sunday’s game before suffering the injury. The 27-year-old got into a career-high 15 games for the Browns last season, finishing with 12 tackles.
  • Patriots offensive tackle Trent Brown exited yesterday’s loss with a calf injury, but the offensive lineman is now just considered day-to-day, according to Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com. Brown re-joined the Patriots this offseason after having spent the past two seasons with the Raiders.

2022 NFL Fifth-Year Option Tracker

April 29th, 2021 at 4:47pm CST by Zachary Links

NFL teams have until May 3 to officially pick up their options on 2018 first-rounders who are entering the final year of their rookie deals. In a change from years past, fifth-year option seasons are fully guaranteed, rather than guaranteed for injury only. Meanwhile, salaries are now determined by a blend of the player’s position, initial draft placement, and specific performance metrics:

  • 2-time Pro Bowlers (excluding alternate Pro Bowlers) will earn the same as their position’s franchise tag.
  • 1-time Pro Bowlers will earn the equivalent of the transition tag.
  • Players who achieve any of the following will get the average of the 3rd-20th highest salaries at their position:
    • 75%+ snaps in two of their first three seasons
    • 75%+ average across all three seasons
    • 50%+ in each of first three seasons
  • Players who do not hit any of those benchmarks will get the average of the 3rd-25th top salaries at their position.

With the deadline looming, we’ll use the space below to track all the option decisions from around the league:

Updated 4-30-21, 4:24pm CT

  1. QB Baker Mayfield, Browns: Exercised ($18.858MM)
  2. RB Saquon Barkley, Giants: Exercised ($7.217MM)
  3. QB Sam Darnold, Panthers (via Jets): Pending ($18.858MM)
  4. CB Denzel Ward, Browns — Exercised ($13.294MM)
  5. LB Bradley Chubb, Broncos — Pending ($12.716MM)
  6. G Quenton Nelson, Colts — Pending ($13.754MM)
  7. QB Josh Allen, Bills: Pending ($23.106MM)
  8. LB Roquan Smith, Bears: Exercised ($9.735MM)
  9. OT Mike McGlinchey, 49ers: Exercised ($10.88MM)
  10. QB Josh Rosen, Cardinals: N/A
  11. S Minkah Fitzpatrick, Steelers (via Dolphins): Exercised ($10.612MM)
  12. DT Vita Vea, Buccaneers: Exercised ($7.638MM)
  13. DT Daron Payne, Washington — Exercised ($8.529MM)
  14. DE Marcus Davenport, Saints: Exercised ($9.553MM)
  15. OT Kolton Miller, Raiders — N/A (extension)
  16. LB Tremaine Edmunds, Bills: Pending ($12.716MM)
  17. S Derwin James, Chargers: Exercised ($9.052MM)
  18. CB Jaire Alexander, Packers: Exercised ($13.294MM)
  19. LB Leighton Vander Esch, Cowboys: Pending ($9.145MM)
  20. C Frank Ragnow, Lions: Exercised ($12.657MM)
  21. C Billy Price, Bengals: Declined ($10.413MM)
  22. LB Rashaan Evans, Titans: Pending ($9.735MM)
  23. OT Isaiah Wynn, Patriots: Pending ($10.413 MM)
  24. WR D.J. Moore, Panthers: Exercised ($11.116MM)
  25. TE Hayden Hurst, Falcons (via Ravens): Pending ($5.428MM)
  26. WR Calvin Ridley, Falcons: Pending ($11.116MM)
  27. RB Rashaad Penny, Seahawks: Pending ($4.523MM)
  28. S Terrell Edmunds, Steelers: Pending ($6.753MM)
  29. DT Taven Bryan, Jaguars: Pending ($7.638MM)
  30. CB Mike Hughes, Vikings: Pending ($12.643MM)
  31. RB Sony Michel, Patriots: Pending ($4.523MM)
  32. QB Lamar Jackson, Ravens: Exercised ($23.106MM)

Saints Pick Up Marcus Davenport’s Fifth-Year Option

April 29th, 2021 at 4:00pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The draft is about to kickoff in a few hours, but as you can see with all the Aaron Rodgers drama, the rest of the league isn’t slowing down. The Saints are still taking care of other business, as they’ve exercised the fifth-year option on Marcus Davenport, a source told Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football (Twitter link).

With the changes in the new CBA, it means Davenport’s salary for 2022 is now fully guaranteed. Previously it would’ve been guaranteed for injury only. The UTSA product will now make around $9.55MM in 2022. New Orleans gave up a first-round pick to move up 13 spots in the 2018 draft in order to select Davenport.

He hasn’t lived up to those lofty expectations, but he has shown promise when on the field. He started 13 games in 2019 but was limited to only 11 contests this past year, and started just one of them. He had 4.5 sacks as a rookie, six as a sophomore, and then only 1.5 this past year.

Injuries are a concern, and he only played around 50 percent of the snaps when healthy in 2020. This one was far from a lock, and it’s a strong vote of confidence in a player who’s still only 24. He’s shown flashes of brilliance before, and the Saints are hoping he can fully deliver on that potential over the next two years.

NFL’s Fifth-Year Option Salaries For 2021

March 10th, 2021 at 12:56pm CST by Zachary Links

The NFL’s 2021 salary cap has been set at $182.5MM, marking the league’s first reduction in a decade. With that, the league has also ironed out the value of this year’s fifth-round option for 2018 first-round picks.

Here’s the full rundown, via NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero (on Twitter):

1. Baker Mayfield, Browns, QB — $18.858MM (playing time)

2. Saquon Barkley, Giants, RB — $7.217MM (1x Pro Bowl)

3. Sam Darnold, Jets, QB — $18.858MM (playing time)

4. Denzel Ward, Browns, CB — $13.294MM (1x Pro Bowl)

5. Bradley Chubb, Broncos, LB — $12.716MM (1x Pro Bowl)

6. Quenton Nelson, Colts, G — $13.754MM (2x Pro Bowl)

7. Josh Allen, Bills, QB — $23.106MM (1x Pro Bowl)

8. Roquan Smith, Bears, LB — $9.735MM (playing time)

9. Mike McGlinchey, 49ers, OT — $10.88MM (playing time)

10. Josh Rosen, Cardinals, QB*

11. Minkah Fitzpatrick, Steelers, S (drafted by Dolphins) — $10.612MM (2x Pro Bowl)

12. Vita Vea, Buccaneers, DT — $7.638MM

13. Daron Payne, Washington, DT — $8.529MM (playing time)

14. Marcus Davenport, Saints, DE — $9.553MM

15. Kolton Miller, Raiders, OT — $10.88MM (playing time)

16. Tremaine Edmunds, Bills, LB — $12.716MM (1x Pro Bowl)

17. Derwin James, Chargers, S — $9.052MM (1x Pro Bowl)

18. Jaire Alexander, Packers, CB — $13.294MM (1x Pro Bowl)

19. Leighton Vander Esch, Cowboys, LB — $9.145MM

20. Frank Ragnow, Lions, C — $12.657MM (1x Pro Bowl)

21. Billy Price, Bengals, C — $10.413MM

22. Rashaan Evans, Titans, LB — $9.735MM (playing time)

23. Isaiah Wynn, Patriots, OT — $10.413MM

24. D.J. Moore, Panthers, WR — $11.116MM (playing time)

25. Hayden Hurst, Falcons, TE (Drafted by Ravens) — $5.428MM

26. Calvin Ridley, Falcons, WR — $11.116MM (playing time)

27. Rashaad Penny, Seahawks, RB — $4.523MM

28., Steelers, S Terrell Edmunds — $6.753MM (playing time)

29. Taven Bryan, Jaguars, DT — $7.638MM

30. Mike Hughes, Vikings, CB — $12.643MM

31. Sony Michel, Patriots, RB — $4.523MM

32. Lamar Jackson, Ravens, QB — $23.106MM (1x Pro Bowl)

* Rosen was released from his original contract and, therefore, is not option-eligible 

As a refresher, the fifth-year option year is now fully guaranteed. In the past, it was guaranteed for injury only. The values are also dependent on certain performance metrics:

  • Two-time Pro Bowlers (excluding alternate Pro Bowlers) will earn the same as their position’s franchise tag.
  • One-time Pro Bowlers will earn the equivalent of the transition tag.
  • Players who achieve any of the following will get the average of the 3rd-20th highest salaries at their position:
    • 75%+ snaps in two of their first three seasons
    • 75%+ average across all three seasons
    • 50%+ in each of first three seasons
  • Players who do not hit any of those benchmarks will get the average of the 3rd-25th top salaries at their position.

Saints’ Marcus Davenport Done For The Year

December 10th, 2019 at 5:15pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

There’s already been a lot of big injury news today, and now we have even more. Saints defensive lineman Marcus Davenport is expected to undergo season-ending surgery, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network (Twitter link). 

Per Pelissero, Davenport “suffered a significant foot injury” during New Orleans’ loss to the 49ers on Sunday. It’s a huge blow to a Saints defensive front that has been one of the team’s strengths this season. The Saints traded a first-round pick to move up and take Davenport 14th overall in last year’s draft. He dominated against weaker competition in college at UTSA, and was regarded as a highly talented but somewhat raw prospect.

After a relatively quiet rookie year in which he showed plenty of flashes but didn’t start a game, he has been playing a huge role in 2019. He’s started all 13 games for the Saints this season, racking up 31 tackles, six sacks, and three forced fumbles. The Saints’ defense is pretty banged up at the moment, with key linebackers A.J. Klein and Kiko Alonso also dealing with injuries.

They recently re-signed Manti Te’o in response to the health issues. Defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins was also knocked out of their loss to the 49ers with an ankle injury, although it’s unclear how serious that is. Davenport took a step forward this season, and he will be back as a key piece in 2020.

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