Denver Broncos Will be Just Fine Without Elvis Dumervil

Elvis Dumervil chose the Baltimore Ravens over returning to the Denver Broncos on Sunday, and that’s fine. The Broncos will quickly move on to Dwight Freeney or John Abraham, and they may have one of them signed before you read this article.

Dumervil was a very good player for the Broncos, and he has a right to play wherever he wants; that’s what free agency is all about. Dumervil will be a good player for the Ravens as he was for the Broncos, but let’s get a couple of things straight from the Broncos perspective.

There have already been headlines and reports saying that the Broncos mistake with the fax nine days ago finally caught up with them as Dumervil signs with the Ravens. That’s completely inaccurate; the mess with the fax was on Dumervil and his former agent Marty Magid. It now appears as if Dumervil is using that whole mess as a primary reason for not re-signing with the Broncos and that’s okay, but that mess was his fault.

As for those who believe he signed with the Ravens because he was upset about being asked to take a pay cut, sorry, not buying that one either. Dumervil accepted the reduction in salary and was ready to sign a new deal until he missed the deadline to get the paperwork in. If the pay cut was okay before the fax fiasco, what changed? The only thing that changed was a missed deadline that forced the Broncos to cut Dumervil to avoid paying him $12 million a year. The truth is that once Dumervil was a free agent, and he was ready to move on. Again, that’s fine, but don’t insult me by saying you felt unwanted by the Broncos when you were ready to sign, and did sign a new contract nine days ago.

As for the Broncos on the field, they will be just fine. They will bring in either Abraham or Freeney, draft a young player and expect more from Robert Ayers in 2013. The loss of Dumervil is a minor setback in an otherwise stellar offseason for John Elway and the Broncos. The news of today doesn’t change that and it also doesn’t change the fact that the Broncos are the AFC favorites heading into 2013.

As for myself, I’m just happy it’s over and we can move on just as the Broncos will. I haven’t looked in about five minutes; have the Broncos signed Freeney yet?

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