The Baltimore Ravens, who have been seemingly devastated by free agent defections this year, have landed a big one today - Elvis Dumervil. The former Denver Broncos defensive end was released by the Broncos on Friday when paperwork on a new deal, lowering Dumervil's cap number from $12 million to $8 million, was received by the team six minutes too late. The Broncos, who would have had to guarantee the entire $12 million this season at 2pm Mountain Time on Friday, released Dumervil at 1:59pm when they did not yet have paperwork that had to be in New York at the NFL offices by the 2pm deadline.
So, suddenly Dumervil was a free agent. Many Miami Dolphins fans started to drool over teaming Dumervil with Cameron Wake on the Miami defensive line. However, the Dolphins never seemed to commit to the move, despite being "involved" in the talks. Instead, Dumervil's new deal came down to either a return to Denver, or moving on to the Ravens.
The Denver Post's Mike Klis reports that Dumervil and the Ravens have, indeed, agreed to terms. According to Klis, the deal will give Dumervil the $8.5 million this season that he would have gotten with the Broncos, then $5 million in year two of the five year contract.
The magic number in the contract talks was $13 million over two years, which would match the deal Cliff Avril received with the Seattle Seahawks this offseason.
The Broncos are thought to be turning their attention to Dwight Freeney, the former Indianapolis Colts defensive end, where he was a teammate of Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning. If a deal cannot be worked out there, the Broncos could pursue former Atlanta Falcons defensive end John Abraham.
Of course, both of those players could be on Miami's radar too.
For more on the Dumervil signing, check out Baltimore Beatdown. To see the Denver reaction, and follow the Broncos' next move, head over to Mile High Report.