With the Detroit Lions officially being eliminated from playoff contention after their disappointing Week 17 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, fans are starting to look ahead to the offseason.
The Lions still have one game left to play on Sunday against the Chicago Bears, in which they could play spoiler and keep the Bears from possibly obtaining the No. 2 seed. However, most Lions fans don’t care about that. They’re thinking about what went wrong in 2025 and where they can improve in the offseason.
One player who will likely not be back this upcoming offseason is veteran defensive end Marcus Davenport. The 29-year-old defender’s two-year tenure in the Motor City has been marred by injury, which has been the story of his career.
Davenport only appeared in two games in 2024 before suffering a season-ending triceps injury in Week 3, which was rather disappointing. However, Detroit re-signed Davenport to a one-year deal in the offseason, giving him another chance to prove himself.
But the injury bug once again doomed the veteran defensive lineman as he suffered a pectoral muscle injury in Week 2, which kept him sidelined for several weeks. While he was on the shelf, Al-Quadin Muhammad took advantage of the additional playing time, making a really strong case to return next season.
Davenport eventually made his return in Week 13, but has not done much to warrant a return in 2026, and even a breakout performance in the regular season finale can't save him.
Marcus Davenport Likely Playing His Final Game with Lions in Week 18
In his last five games, Davenport has accumulated nine combined tackles, two quarterback hits, two quarterback pressures, and zero sacks. That’s not what Detroit had in mind, as the veteran defender has played 56.8% of defensive snaps.
While Davenport has been a non-factor, Muhammad has been playing out of his world during this stretch. The 30-year-old Muhammad has racked up nine pressures, eight quarterback hits, seven combined tackles, five tackles for loss, and five sacks in 39.7% of defensive snaps.
The Lions coaching staff and fans would’ve loved for Davenport to be putting up those types of numbers, but for some reason, it hasn’t happened. Heading into the finale on Sunday, it would be shocking to see a breakout game from Davenport. If anything, Week 18 will be his swan song.
Detroit could do so much better in the offseason by finding a Davenport replacement in free agency or in the NFL draft. Or the Lions could give an opportunity to Ahmed Hassanein, who was brought back to the team via the practice squad in November. In fact, you could make the case that Lions fans would want to see the rookie on the field rather than Davenport.
Nonetheless, the Marcus Davenport era was truly one to forget as he could never live up to expectations and be that complementary player opposite of Hutchinson.