It has been a rough couple of days for Elvis Dumervil. The Denver Broncos force him into a situation where he either had to take a pay cut or be released. He takes a pay cut, but does not get the contract through the fax in time, forcing the team to let him go. After signing with a new agent, Dumervil appealed to the NFL to let him be able to sign back with the Broncos, an appeal that has now been rejected by the league. Now with Dumervil on the free agent market, the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers are interested in the pass rusher.
Dumervil claims that he and the Broncos had a verbal agreement on a newly restructured contract. He agreed to take a $4 million pay cut in 2013, going from $12 million to $8 million. His agent however, failed to get the paperwork sent through the fax in time and missed the NFL deadline on Friday. Once Dumervil fired his agent and hired a new one, the two appealed and were in fact denied. While the Broncos are reportedly interested in re-signing the 29-year old defensive end, he is also getting interest from others that may offer him a slightly better deal.
It is unclear if the Patriots are interested in Dumervil to actually bring him onto the team or if they just want to drive his price up a bit. The Patriots have been in the market for a pass rusher to help their defense. They have hosted both Dwight Freeney and John Abraham, but have yet to sign anyone to an actual deal. Stealing Dumervil from Denver would be a bit of revenge for a team who lost their best wide receiver to the Broncos.
In the wake of releasing linebacker James Harrison, the Pittsburgh Steelers have a hole on defense to fill. Dumervil would be a quality player to be a fitting replacement. He has 38.5 sacks over the past three years and has not shown a decline in skills while approaching 30. The Steelers do not have much financial flexibility. That was one of the causes for Harrison's release. However, Dumervil will not command big money and the team could sign him for relatively cheap.
Wherever Dumervil signs, it is unlikely it will be for the $8 million salary he originally agreed to with the Broncos. The market is not strong for defensive ends and teams are looking less likely to shell out big money for players all getting up there in age.