5 edge rushers the Detroit Lions could add to replace Marcus Davenport

The Detroit Lions were hammered by the injury bug so much on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals that what happened to Marcus Davenport was easy to overlook. He suffered what looked to be arm injury, since he returned to the game with a sleeve on his left elbow, but the team offered no update or elaboration about the injury during or immediately after the game.

Turns out, as reported by Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Davenport suffered a "serious and significant" elbow injury. Rapoport further reported the Lions' edge rusher could miss the rest of the season, pending the results of further tests as of the report early Monday afternoon.

Head coach Dan Campbell opened his Monday press conference by confirming Davenport is done for the season.

The Lions knew what they were getting into when they signed Davenport, in terms of injury risk and durability concerns. This injury was unique though, as Cardinals' left tackle Paris Johnson clearly did a dirty move by taking his hand and chopping down on Davenport's arm.

The Lions could use some current players as edge rushers to fill the void left by Davenport (Levi Onwuzurike, Josh Paschal, Mehki Wingo, James Houston). But it's also fair to say outside replacement options will be explored to some extent, if only in the name of due diligence to see if anyone might make sense.

On that front, here are five edge rusher options the Lions could look to add.

5 edge rushers the Lions could look at to replace Marcus Davenport

5. Carl Lawson, Dallas Cowboys (practice squad)

Lawson lingered available for a while before the Dallas Cowboys signed him. He was elevated from the practice squad for the first time in Week 3, and played eight defensive snaps.

After a solidly productive 2022 season for the New York Jets (seven sacks), where he played all 17 games, Lawson played in just six games for them last season. He was often a healthy scratch, which pushed some trade rumors. Over the games he did play he barely topped 100 snaps (101), and in the middle of the season he lamented his lack of action without openly driving controversy.

Lawson missed the entire 2021 season with a torn Achilles, but he seemed to put any lingering concern about any ramifications of that injury to bed immediately in 2022.

The pickings are obviously pretty slim right now. But the idea of poaching Lawson off Dallas' practice squad, with the requirement he has to be signed to the active roster, could be on the radar with the news on Davenport's injury confirmed to be as dire as initially reported.

4. Haason Reddick, New York Jets

As his situation with the Jets has dissolved into what it is, I've consistently pushed back on any idea that Reddick makes sense as a trade target for the Lions. But to leave him off this list would be malpractice, as theoretically the "best edge rusher available" and someone the Lions should pursue (even before Davenport's season-ending injury)-like other outlets would have you believe.

The price has to be very right, namely a contingent Day 3 draft pick, and he'd have to agree to play out the season without a new contract. But there's a non-zero chance the Lions consider making an offer for Reddick now.

3. Azeez Ojulari, New York Giants

Ojulari is theoretically very available, and he may have bolstered his appeal with a sack against the Cleveland Browns in Week 3. He's also hard to get very excited about.

A second-round pick by the Giants in 2021 (50th overall), Ojulari had eight sacks with eight tackles for loss during his rookie season. Over the two seasons after, as injuries limited him to 18 total games, he has eight sacks (2.5 last season, with two sacks in Week 18). For what it's worth, Pro Football Focus has never been very high on his work. It's fair to assume the Giants would move him if a viable offer came.

Not that the Lions can be especially picky if they look outside the organization to replace Davenport for the rest of the season. But Ojulari looks like a younger version of Davenport in terms of durability/production concerns. Maybe they buy into an idea that good coaching can unlock a consistent level in a still-young player, and part with a late day Day 2 or more likely a Day 3 draft pick.

2. Jadeveon Clowney, Carolina Panthers

Winning in Week 3 does not take the Panthers out of what should be sell-mode over the next month-plus. Any older players could/should be on the trade block, including the 31-year old Clowney.

The former No. 1 overall pick is on his fifth team over the last six seasons. He had his first sack of the season against the Raiders in Week 3, with a season-high seven pressures according to Pro Football Focus. Last season with the Baltimore Ravens, he had 9.5 sacks while playing all 17 games. Over a six-season span from 2018-2024, he was graded as a top-20 edge defender by PFF four times (No. 18 last year).

Clowney can still be a difference maker for a pass rush, and he has no long-term place on one of the worst teams in the league. The Lions could make a trade offer Carolina shouldn't refuse to rent him for the rest of the season.

1. Yannick Ngakoue, Free Agent

Before a down 2023 season that was shortened by injury with the Chicago Bears, few pass rushers in the NFL were as consistent as Ngakoue was . He posted at least eight sacks in each of his first seven seasons, with double-digit sacks twice and at least 9.5 sacks four times.

Part of the rub with Ngakoue, and perhaps a core reason he remains available as September winds down, might be how well-traveled he has been. He has played for five teams over the last four seasons, since his rookie contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars ran out. It's worth noting his underlying pass rush numbers have been eroding, and that seemed to show in his raw sack production last season. He's also not much of a run defender.

As for that aforementioned injury, a broken ankle, Ngakoue made an effort to dismiss any concern about it with a social media video back in May.

It's unclear why no one has signed Ngakoue. But with apparently few or no opportunities out there for him up to now, he may have to jump at the next team that has interest if he wants to play this season. The Lions could be that team, with a situation that should appeal greatly to him.

Update, 5:35 p.m. ET: Ngakoue is not an option for the Lions, at least for now. According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, he is signing back with the Baltimore Ravens.