Last Friday, the Broncos cut defensive end Elvis Dumervil after a last-minute effort to re-do his contract imploded at the last minute.
Now, a trio of teams hover over Dumervil and former Colts defensive end/linebacker Dwight Freeney.
Per a league source with knowledge of the situation, the Steelers, Ravens, and Broncos remain in play for both players. Currently, Dumervil’s decision is expected to come down to Baltimore and Denver. Whichever of that duo doesn’t get Dumervil becomes likely to land Freeney, with the Steelers as the possible alternative destination.
The fact that Dumervil remains on the right side of 30 makes him more attractive than Freeney. In Baltimore, Dumervil would help reverse the recent bleeding. His addition also would constitute the ultimate tweaking of the Broncos, who lost in dramatic fashion to the Ravens in the postseason.
While the Broncos want Dumervil back, the fact that last Friday’s offer evaporated after agent Marty Magid failed to fax the paperwork to Denver on time has created some hard feelings. The Broncos have blamed the lower package on the cap acceleration resulting from the termination of Dumervil’s prior contract, but the fact that future cap dollars have been pushed into 2013 easily can be remedied via a structure that nudges cap dollars that otherwise would count this year into the future.