Baltimore's Dumervil Set For Return To Denver
OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) -- Elvis Dumervil is days away from returning to the stadium he called home for his first seven years in the NFL and facing off against his former team.
Dumervil doesn't like talking about the bizarre circumstances that led to his departure from Denver, and he's said during the past several months that he has no resentment towards the Broncos, but Ravens teammate Terrell Suggs said Sunday that there's an extra level of excitement for Dumervil going into a game against his former organization.
Dumervil signed with Baltimore in March, and his first game with the Ravens is against the Broncos Thursday night in Denver.
Coincidentally, Dumervil's last game with the Broncos was against the Ravens, Denver's dramatic double-overtime loss to the Baltimore in January during the divisional round of the AFC playoffs.
"Elvis is a pretty relaxed guy," Suggs said. "He's been watching the playoff game since he got here because they were our first game, and I think he's going to be calm. But when that ball's kicked off, once it is kicked off, he's going to be a little excited."
Dumervil was selected to the Pro Bowl each of the last three years with Denver that he was healthy, but the Broncos released Dumervil in March in a salary cap-related move.
Dumervil and Denver actually did agree to a restructured contract, but the paperwork wasn't filed in time to the league office and the Broncos were forced to release Dumervil to avoid having the $12 million Dumervil was set to make this season becoming guaranteed.
Dumervil still considered returning to Denver after that, but he instead chose to sign with the Ravens. Months later, Dumervil says he's happy with his decision.
"I feel amazing," Dumervil said. "The decision was made in March. As of right now, I'm a Raven, and I feel great about that."
Baltimore seems to feel great about that, too.
Pairing Dumervil with 2011 NFL Defensive Player of the Year Terrell Suggs gives the Ravens arguably the most talented pass rushing tandem in the NFL.
"It's always nice to get a guy in there who can bring new ideas to you and new ways of doing things, and Elvis has certainly done that," Baltimore coach John Harbaugh said. "He's latched on with the things we're doing, and it's been a great mesh."
And Thursday's opener against the Broncos will provide Baltimore with its first look at Dumervil in a non-preseason game setting. As for Denver, it will be facing familiar opponents - the Ravens as well as Dumervil.
"We played them twice last year so there is familiarity there on both sides," Broncos coach John Fox said. "It's almost like a division team. We know them. They know us. They've changed. We've changed. I'm sure both sides will be excited."
NOTES: The Ravens released reserve wide receiver LaQuan Williams Sunday. Williams signed with Baltimore as an undrafted free agent in 2011 and played for the Ravens each of the last two seasons. Prior to cutting Williams, Baltimore had seven wide receivers on its 53-man roster...The Ravens signed seven players to their practice squad. The seven players are tight end Matt Furstenburg, safety Omar Brown, inside linebacker Brandon Copeland, defensive lineman Cody Larsen and offensive linemen Reggie Stephens, J.J. Unga and Jordan Devey. All seven spent the summer with Baltimore and were released as the Ravens trimmed their roster to 53 players during the weekend.
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