Lonestar
05-06-2010, 10:59 PM
Krieger: It's time to show Elvis the money
By Dave Krieger
The Denver Post
POSTED: 05/06/2010 01:00:00 AM MDT
UPDATED: 05/06/2010 05:39:02 PM MDT
It is early yet, which is the best thing you can say about Elvis Dumervil being in contract limbo.
The Broncos have all spring to lock up the NFL's sack leader with a multiyear deal, if that's their plan. Everything they say suggests it is, except for the references to labor "uncertainty."
That's code for a possible lockout in 2011. There's no telling when the issues underlying that pending confrontation will be settled, but it won't be this spring.
In the meantime, Dumervil is staying away from the Broncos' offseason program, working out on his own in Miami. As a restricted free agent who has not signed the team's one-year tender, he is not under contract. He is also keeping quiet about it, as is his agent.
For the Broncos' second-year management team, giving Dumervil a fair deal will send an important message to the rest of the locker room about the value of being a team player under coach Josh McDaniels.
After all, Dumervil changed positions last year, from defensive end in a 4-3 defense to outside linebacker in a 3-4, did so without complaint and put up a league-leading 17 sacks along the way.
Everybody in that locker room saw what happened to Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall. They agitated their way out of town and took a lot of grief from Broncos fans along the way. But they also got paid. Each was awarded an eight-figure contract extension from his new team.
By contrast, Dumervil and quarterback Kyle Orton have been good soldiers, and they're looking at modest one-year deals because their unrestricted free agency was delayed by the labor trouble.
Whether Orton ever gets to look at much more than that is now in doubt, with more celebrated rivals showing up in trade and through the draft.
That leaves Dumervil, and recent precedent suggests long-term harmony won't come cheap:
• Texans linebacker DeMeco Ryans got a six-year, $48 million deal. Like Dumervil, he was a restricted free agent looking at a $3.1 million tender before Houston management intervened.
• Niners linebacker Patrick Willis got a five-year, $50 million extension even though his rookie contract still had two years to run.
• Saints guard Jahri Evans got a seven-year, $56 million deal. Like Dumervil, Evans was a restricted free agent drafted in the fourth round in 2006 and named to his first Pro Bowl last season.
Asked about Dumervil's contract status at his predraft news conference, this is what McDaniels said:
"I know that is a frustrating situation for all of us. We are looking at a place right now in the league where there is some uncertainty for us going forward. I think that is holding up some things on a lot of teams and in a lot of organizations. I think that is part of the whole entire thing.
"We are thrilled with Elvis Dumervil's season last year and excited to have him back and looking forward to his production continuing on for years. As of right now, I know he is working hard in Miami, he stays in touch with Wink (defensive coordinator Don Martindale) and I think we will all be excited when he is back. It is what it is, and other than that, there isn't much to talk about."
Under the labor rules, which tilt toward the owners in the collective bargaining agreement's final year, the Broncos could force Dumervil to play by the terms of his one-year tender or sit out. That would risk sending a message to the locker room that loyalty is demanded but not rewarded.
About the only reasons to suspect trouble are the Broncos' potential reluctance to commit money to 2011 and the history of pugnacious negotiations in New England under Bill Belichick, McDaniels' former employer. Patriots two-time Pro Bowl guard Logan Mankins is in the same situation as Dumervil and said this about it at the end of the season:
"You think about it. You see other guys signing extensions, and you wish you were one of those guys with an extension. You'll have to ask the powers that be around here if I'm going to get one or not. Because I don't know."
McDaniels used the team-first ethic to galvanize support for his trades of Cutler, Marshall and Tony Scheffler, and pretty effectively too. But if it's going to resonate in that locker room, the loyalty needs to roll both ways.
Football players know their careers are always one play away from blowing up. They still call their league the Not For Long. A new deal for Doom would go a long way toward showing that team-first is a two-way street.
Dave Krieger: 303-954-5297, dkrieger@denverpost.com or twitter.com/DaveKrieger
By Dave Krieger
The Denver Post
POSTED: 05/06/2010 01:00:00 AM MDT
UPDATED: 05/06/2010 05:39:02 PM MDT
It is early yet, which is the best thing you can say about Elvis Dumervil being in contract limbo.
The Broncos have all spring to lock up the NFL's sack leader with a multiyear deal, if that's their plan. Everything they say suggests it is, except for the references to labor "uncertainty."
That's code for a possible lockout in 2011. There's no telling when the issues underlying that pending confrontation will be settled, but it won't be this spring.
In the meantime, Dumervil is staying away from the Broncos' offseason program, working out on his own in Miami. As a restricted free agent who has not signed the team's one-year tender, he is not under contract. He is also keeping quiet about it, as is his agent.
For the Broncos' second-year management team, giving Dumervil a fair deal will send an important message to the rest of the locker room about the value of being a team player under coach Josh McDaniels.
After all, Dumervil changed positions last year, from defensive end in a 4-3 defense to outside linebacker in a 3-4, did so without complaint and put up a league-leading 17 sacks along the way.
Everybody in that locker room saw what happened to Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall. They agitated their way out of town and took a lot of grief from Broncos fans along the way. But they also got paid. Each was awarded an eight-figure contract extension from his new team.
By contrast, Dumervil and quarterback Kyle Orton have been good soldiers, and they're looking at modest one-year deals because their unrestricted free agency was delayed by the labor trouble.
Whether Orton ever gets to look at much more than that is now in doubt, with more celebrated rivals showing up in trade and through the draft.
That leaves Dumervil, and recent precedent suggests long-term harmony won't come cheap:
• Texans linebacker DeMeco Ryans got a six-year, $48 million deal. Like Dumervil, he was a restricted free agent looking at a $3.1 million tender before Houston management intervened.
• Niners linebacker Patrick Willis got a five-year, $50 million extension even though his rookie contract still had two years to run.
• Saints guard Jahri Evans got a seven-year, $56 million deal. Like Dumervil, Evans was a restricted free agent drafted in the fourth round in 2006 and named to his first Pro Bowl last season.
Asked about Dumervil's contract status at his predraft news conference, this is what McDaniels said:
"I know that is a frustrating situation for all of us. We are looking at a place right now in the league where there is some uncertainty for us going forward. I think that is holding up some things on a lot of teams and in a lot of organizations. I think that is part of the whole entire thing.
"We are thrilled with Elvis Dumervil's season last year and excited to have him back and looking forward to his production continuing on for years. As of right now, I know he is working hard in Miami, he stays in touch with Wink (defensive coordinator Don Martindale) and I think we will all be excited when he is back. It is what it is, and other than that, there isn't much to talk about."
Under the labor rules, which tilt toward the owners in the collective bargaining agreement's final year, the Broncos could force Dumervil to play by the terms of his one-year tender or sit out. That would risk sending a message to the locker room that loyalty is demanded but not rewarded.
About the only reasons to suspect trouble are the Broncos' potential reluctance to commit money to 2011 and the history of pugnacious negotiations in New England under Bill Belichick, McDaniels' former employer. Patriots two-time Pro Bowl guard Logan Mankins is in the same situation as Dumervil and said this about it at the end of the season:
"You think about it. You see other guys signing extensions, and you wish you were one of those guys with an extension. You'll have to ask the powers that be around here if I'm going to get one or not. Because I don't know."
McDaniels used the team-first ethic to galvanize support for his trades of Cutler, Marshall and Tony Scheffler, and pretty effectively too. But if it's going to resonate in that locker room, the loyalty needs to roll both ways.
Football players know their careers are always one play away from blowing up. They still call their league the Not For Long. A new deal for Doom would go a long way toward showing that team-first is a two-way street.
Dave Krieger: 303-954-5297, dkrieger@denverpost.com or twitter.com/DaveKrieger