Earlier this week, New Orleans Saints coach Dennis Allen said defensive end Marcus Davenport was off the field because he was rehabilitating a shoulder and finger. While that was true, it didn’t really tell the whole story.
Davenport told the rest of the story when he showed off his bandaged left hand and pinky, which was partially amputated this offseason, in the locker room after Wednesday’s minicamp practice.
“Everything kind of paused for that,” Davenport said, pointing to his hand.
This was an old injury that had required multiple surgeries, but sometime that offseason, Davenport learned he had developed an infection after breaking a plate that had been inserted into his finger following an injury while he was in college. The top half of his finger was removed.
Davenport said the original injury occurred during the New Mexico Bowl at the end of his 2016 junior season.
“I tore some ligaments, and it kind of went down from there,” he said.
It had come to the point that he could no longer fully flex the finger, which was in a perpetually flexed state. He ultimately had four surgeries performed on the Cipher, including some this offseason, before finally deciding to have her partially amputated.
Given that the injury originally occurred in college and he didn’t use the finger to its fullest, he doesn’t expect his partial loss to affect his game on the field – although he’s had some interesting conversations about it with his two young children.
“You haven’t really seen it yet,” Davenport said. “If anything, are they both ‘Bo-bo?’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, daddy’s got a bo-bo. Come here. It’s okay though.’ I don’t have to tell them cool stories.”
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And no, there’s no temptation for Davenport to come up with a sexy version of why he had to lose his finger, despite playing through a few possibilities.
“If anything, I bit it off,” Davenport said. “Oh wait, I had a fight with a shark.”
The finger wasn’t the only thing Davenport had to contend with this offseason as he also underwent surgery on his right shoulder. He’s hoping to be back in time for training camp, although he understands it all depends on how his still-bandaged hand recovers.
Injuries have plagued Davenport throughout his NFL career, missing at least three games in each of his first four NFL seasons with a variety of ailments.
He only played 11 games last season because of his shoulder injury, but when he was on the field he played the best football of his career, recording a career-best nine sacks and three forced fumbles.
The Saints exercised their fifth-year option on Davenport, meaning the 2022 season is crucial for the young defenseman. Ability was never an issue for Davenport, but availability was. If he manages to get and stay healthy, he could turn this season into a lucrative contract.
For now, Davenport doesn’t seem to bother with such thoughts. As an avid reader, he is currently working his way through Marcus Aurelius’ “Meditations”. Next month, he and his partner are expecting their third child — and their first daughter.
He keeps an eye on everything.
“Dude, after all this, I’m just glad to be alive,” Davenport said.
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