Sunday's roster cutdown deadline saw a lot of former Lions hitting the waiver wire. After teams finalized their 53-man rosters for the season, players who couldn't make the cut have been trying to find new deals, either on practice squads or other rosters.
One former Lion who couldn't make the cut was Marcus Davenport. After signing with the Chicago Bears two weeks ago, Davenport was released over the weekend. As a veteran, the 29-year-old defender immediately became a free agent. It didn't take him very long to sign with the Bears' practice squad.
Ex-Lion Marcus Davenport signs with the Bears' practice squad
Along with former Lions WR Kaden Davis, Davenport will hope to get a chance to play for Ben Johnson. He will also be reuniting with his former defensive coordinator, Dennis Allen, who is now the DC under Johnson in Chicago.
This must have played a large part in Chicago's decision to sign Davenport to the practice squad. Otherwise, it's hard to find a reason why the Bears would waste even a practice squad spot on the veteran pass rusher.
Davenport played a total of 14 games out of the possible 51 over the last three seasons. After he signed with the Lions in the 2024 offseason, his campaigns were derailed by a season-ending triceps injury and a chest injury, respectively.
He wasn't particularly effective when he was on the field, either. He had 1.5 sacks, a tackle for loss, and seven QB hits in the ten games he played for the Lions. His defensive grades of 53.1 and 52.4 on Pro Football Focus in back-to-back years in Detroit left plenty to be desired.
This wasn't the production Lions fans were hoping for when Davenport arrived in Detroit. He was a highly impactful defender earlier in his career. He was a high-end starter for the Saints after he was a first-round pick back in 2018. Unfortunately, he was never the same after he underwent five offseason surgeries in 2022.
Whether Davenport will be able to get back to his healthy and productive self remains to be seen. The early signs, however, are not promising.
Since joining the Bears, Davenport has yet to practice. Ben Johnson said that Davenport wasn't necessarily dealing with an injury, but because of all the missed games over the years, the team wants to be "smart with him." This means that he has to go through a conditioning and strength program and ramp up slowly before the Bears feel comfortable with him on the field.
In premium positions like EDGE, teams like to take low-probability fliers. Davenport is an example of this. Lions fans likely don't have much to worry about when it comes to what their former starter can give to the Bears.
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