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Elvis Dumervil

AFC Notes: Colts, Ravens, Broncos, Jets

January 19th, 2017 at 10:41am CST by Connor J. Byrne

A quick look around the AFC…

  • While announcing Andrew Luck‘s right shoulder surgery Thursday, Colts owner Jim Irsay declared that the quarterback will be ready for the season. Here’s a clearer timeline, courtesy of Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter): Luck will start throwing again in three months and should be ready for a full return in six months, which puts him on track for mid-July.
  • After four seasons, the Ravens are likely to part with pass rusher Elvis Dumervil this winter, writes Clifton Brown of CSNMidAtlantic.com. By releasing Dumervil, who has one year left on his contract, the Ravens would open up $6MM in cap space. Baltimore could use those savings to find a cover corner or offensive weapon, Brown suggests. Dumervil, who’s celebrating his 33rd birthday today, is coming off an eight-game, three-sack season. He missed just one contest out of 48 from 2013-15 and combined for 32.5 sacks, including a lofty 17.5 in 2014.
  • The Broncos will hire Brock Olivo as their new special teams coach, reports Mike Klis of 9News (Twitter link). Olivo spent the past three years as the assistant special teams coach with the AFC West rival Chiefs.
  • Jets guard Brian Winters will receive all $15MM of the guaranteed money on his four-year, $29MM contract in the first two seasons of the deal, per Darryl Slater of NJ.com. The pact also contains per-game roster bonuses of $500K in both 2019 and ’20.

Ravens’ Elvis Dumervil Off PUP List

August 22nd, 2016 at 9:20am CST by Zachary Links

Ravens linebacker Elvis Dumervil is off of the PUP list and back practicing, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Dumervil has passed his physical after undergoing offseason foot surgery. Elvis Dumervil (vertical)

[RELATED: Why The Ravens Could Claim RB Karlos Williams]

Had Dumervil remained on the PUP list for Week 1, he would have been required to sit out for at least six weeks. Dumervil was expected back as his summer surgery was deemed a “preventative procedure” by coach John Harbaugh, but he has only just been cleared to practice. The Ravens are breathing a sigh of relief as they have been able to pull both Dumervil and fellow veteran linebacker Terrell Suggs off of PUP.

In 2016, the Louisville product appeared in and started all 16 regular season games, recording 48 tackles and 6 sacks, earning his fifth Pro Bowl appearance. In 2014, Dumervil exploded for 17 sacks, matching a career high and earning his second career First-Team All-Pro selection.

With Dumervil back in action, running back Lorenzo Taliaferro (foot) and wide receiver Breshad Perriman (knee) stand as the last two Ravens players on the PUP list.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Extra Points: Kaepernick, Gabbert, Kuhn

July 24th, 2016 at 12:51pm CST by Rory Parks

Let’s round up some news from around the league on our last Sunday before full training camp practices begin:

  • Current Vikings guard Alex Boone spent the first seven seasons of his professional career with the 49ers before signing with Minnesota this offseason, and he tells Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk that Blaine Gabbert will beat out Colin Kaepernick for San Francisco’s starting quarterback job. Boone said, “To be honest I think that Blaine did a great job last year, and from what I know of Blaine, I think he’s probably gonna take the reins. I mean I think he’s a good guy, he knows what he’s doing out there, and he just has the support of the group so I think that’s one of the things to look forward to.” Boone’s comments, of course, are in keeping with recent reports from the Bay Area.
  • Longtime Packers fullback and current free agent John Kuhn told Pat Kirwan and Jim Miller on SiriusXM NFL Radio several days ago that he is still waiting for an NFL team (preferably the Packers) to give him a call. A full-length piece from SiriusXM staff provides more details of that conversation, in which Kuhn explains why he expects to continue playing in 2016. Kuhn believes the variety of sub-packages that defenses deploy in today’s game create a need for two-back sets, and he added, “If not this week, if not next week, sometime in August, somebody’s going to have a need for somebody who’s willing to come in, work hard, do some of the dirty work that not everybody does anymore.”
  • The Ravens put six players on the PUP list Saturday, as Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com reports, including big names Terrell Suggs, Steve Smith, Sr., Elvis Dumervil, and Breshad Perriman. All of those players, of course, can return to practice when activated, but they would have to miss at least the first six weeks of the season if they remain on the PUP list when Week 1 rolls around. Conspicuously absent from that list is Joe Flacco, who can participate in the first full-team training camp practice on Thursday.
  • Kyle Meinke of MLive.com says the Lions‘ hottest training camp battle could be at wide receiver, where a host of veterans and unproven youngsters will compete for playing time behind Marvin Jones and Golden Tate.
  • Greg Auman of The Tampa Bay Times tweets that the Buccaneers have 12 receivers currently on the roster, 10 of whom are 25 or younger. Of that group, Auman expects five to make the 53-man roster (or six if the group includes the return specialist). In a separate tweet, Auman indicates that the Bucs will also carry four tight ends.

North Notes: Ravens, Jeffery, Harrison, Lions

June 15th, 2016 at 5:51pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The five-year, $37.5MM deal offensive tackle Eugene Monroe signed in 2014 is the worst contract the Ravens have ever given out, opines Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com. Monroe – whom the Ravens released earlier today – received $17.5MM in guaranteed money and, because of injuries, ultimately made just 17 starts after inking the contract. Hensley adds that the Ravens began souring on Monroe when he didn’t start their 2014 AFC divisional playoff game in New England because of an ankle injury. Monroe was healthy enough to be active for that contest, leading the Ravens to wonder about his toughness.

More from the NFL’s two North divisions:

  • Franchise-tagged Bears receiver Alshon Jeffery wants a long-term contract, but he’s content to play 2016 without one if an agreement isn’t reached by the July 15 deadline (via Jeff Dickerson of ESPN.com). “It really doesn’t matter to me. Like I said, that situation will take care of itself. I’m here to play football and to focus on football,” said Jeffery, who’s currently slated to rake in $14.599MM under the tag.
  • Steelers linebacker James Harrison is 38, but he hopes to play for another two years, as ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler writes. “If you ask me that now, yeah [I can]. But that’s something I’ll deal with. I don’t know if I want to go that far, even though it’s only a couple of years away,” he said. Harrison also discussed his role with the team in 2016 and indicated that he is willing to do whatever is asked of him. The five-time Pro Bowler will surely play a smaller role this year than he did in his heyday.
  • Ravens LB Elvis Dumervil told reporters – including Clifton Brown of CSN Mid-Atlantic, via Twitter – that he underwent a preventative procedure on his foot and is unable to participate in minicamp as a result, though he should be ready by training camp. Teammate Steve Smith, who missed most of last year with a torn Achilles, is expected to sit out the entire preseason; however, he’ll be ready in time for Week 1, tweets Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun.
  • It appears that Lions receiver Corey Fuller had surgery on his injured right foot, per Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com. That would help explain the Lions’ decision to sign Andre Roberts last week and also why the team hosted Anquan Boldin on a visit.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

AFC Notes: Mariota, Bowe, Manuel, Raiders

July 4th, 2015 at 4:27pm CST by Sam Robinson

Offset language continues to represent why Marcus Mariota hasn’t come to terms with the Titans on his rookie contract, the last such holdout. Whether or not Mariota would draw two salaries if cut by the Titans — a highly unlikely event considering Jake Locker finished his four-year deal in Tennessee — and signed by another team is slowing down the process, writes John Glennon of the Tennesseean.

No. 1 pick Jameis Winston‘s contract does contain offset language, which determines whether or not a second team’s payment would help the Titans offset the amount owed to 2015’s No. 2 selection in this scenario, but No. 3 choice Dante Fowler Jr.‘s does not, Glennon reports.

In a decade that’s featured far fewer first-round contract issues than the last due to the clearer structure of the new CBA on rookie salaries, the Titans have been the last team to sign their first-rounder in each of the past three seasons, with Chance Warmack and Taylor Lewan coming to terms late in the summer on their respective deals in 2013 and 2014. First-rounder Kendall Wright missed three days of training camp in 2012 after becoming the second-to-last player to sign that year.

Glennon views Mariota’s camp as holding the leverage in these talks, with the Titans coming off a 2-14 season and ready to have the face of their franchise and advertising campaign suit up.

Here are some more items being mentioned across the AFC as Independence Day winds into the afternoon. We’ll continue with a couple of quarterback assessments.

  • This could be the typical preseason hype before any negatives come to light, a time-honored tradition across sports, but Dwayne Bowe had an interesting observation as he prepares for his first training camp with the Browns. “With Alex Mack and Joe Thomas, we’re going to have a lot of time to hit that deep ball even in the red zone,” Bowe told Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer in a piece centered on the ex-Chiefs wideout’s 17-game span without a touchdown. “I never had a quarterback like Josh (McCown) that was that tall and could see the mismatch and really go to it. He’s got my confidence level high right now.” It’s true Bowe hasn’t exactly had the best passers throwing to him in Brodie Croyle, Matt Cassel and Alex Smith, but the latter duo are 6-foot-5 and 6-4, respectively, while McCown also stands 6-4. Perhaps it’s a sign McCown has shown a penchant to take more risks than the two checkdown-based artists displayed during Bowe’s time in Kansas City.
  • In analyzing Winston, former Buccaneers Pro Bowler and current FOX analyst Ronde Barber made his presumptive stance on the Bills‘ starting quarterback battle known. “The guy that preceded (Winston) at Florida State, EJ Manuel, I did a couple of games of Buffalo over these two years that I’ve been working at FOX, and he is the other way. He’s timid. He holds the ball. He’s scared to deliver it when he needs to,” Barber told Kevin Patra of NFL.com. “This guy is the complete opposite, maybe to a detriment at times; he throws a lot of interceptions. But he has that “it,” that bravado, that gunslinger mentality, if I could use that (tired) cliché, to be a great quarterback in this league.” 
  • Elvis Dumervil collected an extra $1MM in incentive cash with his 12th sack last season, and the 10th-year pass-rusher can earn an additional $3MM by hitting that plateau again this season for the Ravens, reports Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun. The two-time first-team All-Pro matched his career high with 17 sacks last season, and in doing so began a push for his contract signed before the 2013 season to inflate to its full value of $33MM over five years.
  • Behind Latavius Murray, who will receive the first chance to start and build on the momentum he showed at the end of his second season, in the Raiders backfield are Trent Richardson and Roy Helu. The latter has a clearer path to steady playing time, with a proven track record as a passing-down back, writes Steve Corkran of Raiderbeat.com. Marcel Reece, however, may not despite the seventh-year fullback coming off three consecutive Pro Bowl campaigns. As is the case in many NFL attacks today, the fullback does not make frequent cameos in Bill Musgrave‘s system.

Dumervil Triggers Contract Escalators

November 26th, 2014 at 5:51pm CST by Zachary Links

Every time Elvis Dumervil slams an opposing quarterback to the ground, he must hear cash registers going off in his head. As former agent Joel Corry explains in a piece for the National Football Post, Dumervil is cashing in this season thanks to incentives in his contract and there could be more bonus bucks on the way.

Dumervil signed a five-year deal with the Ravens in 2013 with a base value of $26MM and $11MM in guarantees. However, the deal carried the potential worth of $35MM thanks to $9MM in base salary escalators and incentives. Much of that money was tied to contract mechanisms classified as “Not Likely To Be Earned (NLTBE)” – incentives with higher thresholds than his previous career highs. With the NLTBE classification, the Ravens were able to give Dumervil a satisfactory deal while keeping that extra money off the books in that league year.

Since Dumervil had 11 sacks with the Broncos in 2012, his NLTBE escalators or incentives required him to exceed that sack total. With two sacks against the Saints in Week 12, Dumervil triggered $3MM in base salary escalators and earned $1MM in incentives. As Corry outlines in full, there will be more opportunities to rake it in for the former Bronco thanks to four contract clauses. The value of the linebacker’s contract has increased to $30MM over five years. He can’t earn the maximum of $35MM because he didn’t have 12 sacks in 2013, but he can earn up to $33MM if he hits his thresholds again in 2015.

Still, as Corry rightly notes, triggering these incentives doesn’t fully ensure that Dumervil will collect on them. The incentives are rarely guaranteed, so Baltimore can still ask Dumervil to take a pay cut or release him without any financial obligation.

Extra Points: Steelers, Wharton, Sproles

June 25th, 2014 at 9:57pm CST by Zachary Links

Earlier tonight, Clifton Brown of CSNBaltimore.com went into enemy territory to size up the Steelers‘ receiving corps. Offensive coordinator Todd Haley swears that this the deepest group of receivers he’s ever had the privilege of coaching, but it’s certainly lacking star power outside of Antonio Brown. Earlier tonight, we looked at the Steelers’ offseason, including their lack of change when it comes to wide receivers. Here’s more from around the NFL..

  • With starting left guard Amini Silatolu looking healthy and optimism around rookie Trai Turner, the Panthers felt comfortable with not re-signing former starter Travelle Wharton, writes Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer. Wharton, meanwhile, has hinted that he plans to retire.
  • You can call Eagles offseason pickup Darren Sproles a tailback or an all-purpose back, but don’t go calling him a receiver. “Yeah, that’s crazy,” the offensive weapon told reporters, including Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com. “Half the time I get my catches out of the backfield.” Sproles, entering his 10th season, has 378 career receptions for 3,381 yards and 27 career receiving touchdowns. He has more career receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns than either Riley Cooper and Jeremy Maclin, the Eagles’ two starting receivers.
  • The NFL announced that a revised settlement in the concussion lawsuit with former players has been reached. The funds will not be capped, meaning that once the compensation program is established funds will be available to any retired player who develops a qualifying neurocognitive condition.
  • The NFLPA announced via press release that an arbitrator has upheld discipline on three contract advisors, including Martin Magid for bad business dealings with former client Elvis Dumervil.