Why Marcus Davenport's Finger Amputation Won't Limit Him In Major Contract Year

Oft-injured Saints’ pass-rusher Marcus Davenport told reporters on Wednesday that he underwent two surgeries this offseason, one of which was to amputate the tip of his left pinky finger.

Davenport said that he initially injured the pinky in 2016 and the finger became progressively more bent. When a surgery in 2021 to insert a plate and three more this offseason didn’t repair the issue he decided to remove it altogether. 

The amputation won’t impact the fifth-year defensive end going forward, the ProFootballDocs contend, and he will enter the 2022 season with an SIC score of 93. 

Davenport has been playing with the deformed finger for his entire career and the issue had reached the point of being easier to remove the pinky above the DIP joint than it would be to salvage it, according to the Docs. 

Safety Ronnie Lott famously made the same decision in the fifth season of his Hall-of-Fame career and after the initial shock wore off he performed with no limitations. 

By comparison, veteran pass-rusher Jason Pierre-Paul lost a significant portion of his right hand in 2015 and has been a proficient, if not difference-making, defensive end. 

The bigger concern, according to the Docs, is his reported shoulder surgery that is experiencing a delayed rehab because of his finger issue.

Davenport missed two games in 2021 after suffering a right shoulder injury in Week 11. He also suffered a torn pectoral muscle in Week 1 that sent him to the IR for four weeks. The 25-year-old underwent two shoulder surgeries this offseason and will be held out until training camp while he rehabs from his multiple surgeries. 

He should be able to return for Week 1 and be effective for the Saints but if he is delayed or limited it will be because of the upper right arm.

Davenport has missed between three and six games in each of his four seasons but has been effective when healthy. He made 39 tackles and nine sacks and nine tackles for loss in 11 games in 2021, all career-highs.