Marcus Davenport Retires 1 Day After Bears Debut, Former Saints 1st-Round Pick Spent 9 Years in NFL

Marcus Davenport made his Chicago Bears debut on Sunday. On Monday, he decided to call it a career.

Per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo, the veteran pass rusher has decided to retire after nine years in the NFL and has asked for a release from the Bears.

Davenport, 30, signed with the Bears in August but did not make the 53-man roster because he was still ramping up when the team had to make its final cuts. He then joined the team's practice squad before making his debut on Sunday.

In his only game with Chicago, Davenport logged a tackle in a 23-12 win over the New York Jets.

Davenport was drafted 14th overall by the New Orleans Saints, making him the only first-round pick to come out of UTSA. He spent his first five seasons with the Saints, including the best year of his career in 2021, when he logged 39 tackles, nine sacks and three forced fumbles.

He signed a one-year deal with the Minnesota Vikings in 2023 but played just four games before suffering a season-ending ankle injury, starting a stretch of bad injury luck for him.

Davenport spent the 2024 and 2025 campaigns with the Detroit Lions, but played just 10 games total because of various injuries. He went into the 2026 season perhaps hoping to get back on track after several injury-riddled years, but he ultimately decided to hang it up.

Davenport finishes his career with 165 tackles, 25 sacks and seven forced fumbles.