The Baltimore Ravens announced Sunday that they have agreed to terms on a contract with Elvis Dumervil, contingent upon Dumervil passing a physical.
Elvis Dumervil agrees to terms with Ravens
Elvis Dumervil and the Baltimore Ravens agreed to a five-year contract worth up to $35 million on Sunday, contingent upon Dumervil passing a physical.
Dumervil’s contract with the Ravens is reportedly worth up to $35 million over five years, including $8.5 million in 2013, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Dumervil was released by the Broncos on Mar. 15, after Dumervil's agent failed to fax Dumervil's new contract to Denver's front office prior to a 4 p.m. deadline, forcing the Broncos to release the pass rusher. As a result, the Broncos had to absorb nearly $5 million in dead money for 2013, making it difficult for Denver to re-sign Dumervil -- despite the fact that the two sides agreed to a restructured deal early on Mar. 15.
Dumervil effectively replaces Paul Kruger in Baltimore, who signed a five-year, $41 million contract with the Cleveland Browns earlier this offseason. Dumervil will team up with Terrell Suggs in Baltimore, as the Ravens' new pass-rushing tandem.
Appearing in all 16 of Denver’s games in 2012, Dumervil recorded 54 tackles, 11 sacks and forced six fumbles. In the last three seasons, Dumervil recorded 37.5 sacks, and established himself as one of the NFL’s premier pass rushers in the NFL.
The Ravens defense has changed drastically over the past month. Franchise icons Ray Lewis and Ed Reed are no longer with the team, while Paul Kruger, Bernard Pollard, Cary Williams have also left. Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome signed Chris Canty and Marcus Spears to improve the defensive line, which should allow Haloti Ngata to spend more time at defensive tackle -- which should, in turn, help improve Baltimore's rush defense.
Now with Dumervil on the roster, Baltimore's pass defense should improve drastically as well, as he's proven he can pressure the quarterback at an elite level. Baltimore will also have Lardarius Webb back from injury in 2013, which will only help Baltimore's secondary and pass defense.
With Dumervil out of the picture in Denver, it's likely that the Broncos will pursue either John Abraham or Dwight Freeney. Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning attempted to recruit Freeney earlier this offseason, after the Colts released the pass-rushing specialist -- and Manning could soon see his recruiting efforts result in a signing sooner rather than later. Neither Freeney nor Abraham figures to be as effective a pass rusher as Dumervil, as Dumervil is entering his age 29 season, while Freeney and Abraham enter their age 33 and 35 seasons.
Though he played as a defensive end in Denver last season, Dumervil is expected to serve as an outside linebacker for Baltimore -- the same position he played when he recorded 17 sacks for the Broncos in 2009. Last season, Paul Kruger recorded nine sacks for the Ravens in 16 games. While many expected the Ravens to downgrade at outside linebacker after Kruger left, it appears that the Ravens actually upgraded the position.
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