Early in free agency, several pass rushers who won’t be seeing the age of 30 any time soon landed contracts. The older guys, however, have had a harder time finding new homes.
With Elvis Dumervil picking the Ravens, the dominoes will start to fall.
Actually, one of the dominoes already had been teetering, with Osi Umenyiora close to ditching the Giants for the Falcons. (We’ve reported that will happen on Sunday or Monday.) But Dumervil’s decision should spark a reaction that results in contracts for John Abraham, Dwight Freeney, and (eventually) James Harrison and Shaun Phillips.
Abraham or Freeney will likely join the Broncos, soon. The Dolphins and the Patriots likewise have been sniffing around pass rushers, as have the Titans and Saints.
That leaves four veterans for five teams. Which means that one or more of those teams will likely wait until the draft has come and gone before deciding to look for a short-term fix from the ranks of the NFL’s old timers.