Circumstances leading to Elvis Dumervil’s release from the Denver Broncos that put him on the free agent market can be labeled “strange” at best.
Though it may seem to many that even e-mail is outdated these days, the NFL – along with many other multi-billion dollar organizations – is still relying on fax machines to conduct business. As a deadline approached which would have guaranteed Dumervil his full base salary of $12 million in 2013, paperwork confirming his previously agreed upon $4 million reduction in salary wasn’t filed in time.
A fax submitted six minutes too late was the difference between the Ravens attempting to groom a pass rusher through the draft or signing a low-priced veteran and having one of the best defensive talents in the NFL practically fall directly into their lap.
The fax machine fiasco inadvertently cost Dumervil his job in Denver, subsequently leading to Marty Magid, Dumervil’s former agent, being fired as a consequence.
As the ink began to dry on his newly signed five-year, $35 million deal with the Ravens, Dumervil addressed the strange scenario.
“It’s one word: faith,” Dumervil said when asked if he has been able to accept the fallout of a failed fax. “I had faith all along. As a man of God, and how I feel like my life should be run, I wasn’t going to fight it.”
Admittingly, Dumervil wasn’t quite sure what to make of the entire situation.
“A lot of things were happening that I felt were a bit shocking or surprising, but I knew all along that everything was meant to happen for a reason,” he said. “I just took it all in, thought about it and just accepted it for what it was. It’s not about what happens, it’s about how you respond. I’ve always felt that, so I’m ready to respond.”
Having a player of Dumervil’s caliber forcing opponents’ responses on the football field should only mean good things for a team that is searching to find their defensive identity following the loss of two future Hall of Fame cornerstones.
