According to Mike Klis of the Denver Post, former Broncos linebacker Elvis Dumervil has agreed to terms with the Ravens.
Here’s Klis, with a little jab for his Bronco fan readers:
Once again, the Baltimore Ravens have defeated the Broncos.
Elvis Dumervil, one of the best defensive ends in Broncos history, has agreed to a multiyear contract with the Ravens, according to two NFL sources. Dumervil’s departure occurs 10 weeks after Baltimore stunned the Broncos, 38-35 in double-overtime of a second-round AFC playoff game on a below-zero windchill Saturday afternoon.
Dumervil, who just turned 29 in January, is just two years older than Paul Kruger, who led the Ravens in sacks in 2012 before they lost him in free agency to Cleveland.
To further compare the two, Kruger has started just six games in his career (according to his page at NFL.com), registering 15.5 sacks in 4 seasons, with 9.0 of those coming in 2012. Dumervil has started 75 games in six seasons, racking up 63.5 sacks. His best year was in 2009 when he had 17.0, but he has hardly slipped since then, with 9.5 in 2010 and 11.0 last year.
Dumervil’s situation was quite odd – he had agreed to take a pay cut with Denver but then his agent didn’t fax (fax?!) the paperwork in time. Dumervil then hit the market, and fired his agent – presumably via carrier pigeon, so he understood.
Klis explains further:
After nearly two weeks of protracted negotiations regarding the Broncos’ proposed pay cut, Dumervil and his agent Marty Magid finally agreed to take a first-year 33 percent salary reduction to $8 million.
The agreement was communicated 35 minutes before the signature page to Dumervil’s revised contract needed to be at the NFL offices in New York by 2 p.m. March 15.
But the exchange of faxes between Broncos’ contract negotiator Mike Sullivan in Englewood to Magid in Philadelphia to Dumervil in Miami and back to the Broncos’ headquarters took too long. The signature page did not reach the Broncos’ office, much less the league’s fax machine, by the 2 p.m. deadline.
The missed deadline forced the Broncos to terminate Dumervil’s original contract if the team was to avoid guaranteeing his $12 million salary.
With his contract terminated, Dumervil became a free agent.
Also according to Klis, Dumervil (or “Dum” – pronounced “Doom,” as he is known) was recruited to the Ravens by current linebackers coach Don “Wink” Martindale, who coached the Broncos LBs during Dum’s aforementioned monster 2009 season.
While terms of the deal have not been disclosed, the Ravens will likely have to part ways with some additional veterans in order to fit Dumervil’s contract under their salary cap. Guys like Brendon Ayanbadejo and Vonta Leach will be looking over their shoulders this week.
[Update: Per Adam Schefter, the deal is five-year deal worth up to $35 million, including $8.5 million in year one. According to our Russell Street Report capologist Brian McFarland: “Dumervil’s deal reported includes a Signing Bonus of $7.5M and a 2013 base salary of $1M, for a $2.5M Cap #. Ravens will be $5.687M under Cap after the signing.”
Either way, opposing quarterbacks scheduled to go under center against the Ravens next year will also be losing some sleep with the prospect of Dum and T-Sizzle coming at them.
Lose Kruger, pick up Dumervil. Ozzie Newsome once again shows that he is playing chess, while the rest of the league plays checkers.
