Why Denver Shouldn't Worry About Losing Dumervil

As if the AFC Championship loss to the Baltimore Ravens wasn’t enough, the Denver Broncos lost again to the Ravens…Defensive end Elvis Dumervil signed with the Baltimore Ravens last week, on a five year deal worth about $ 35 million.  

Dumervil was drafted by the Broncos in 2006, in his seven seasons with Denver, Dumervil recorded 63.5 sacks.  Solid career to say the least, but was it time for Denver to part ways with Dumervil and get younger on the defensive line? I believe so, and here is why. 

No matter how great a player may be, age always catches up with his performance on the field. Fact and matter is Dumervil is at the prime of his career at 29, but how many more great years does he really have left in the tank? Two, three years at most.

Take a look at Indianapolis Colts defensive linemane, Dwight Freeney for instance... In the past two seasons Freeney has only racked up 45 total tackles and 13.5 sacks.  Freeney is 33-years-old and at the tail end of his career.  If I’m Denver I shy away from Dwight Freeney...

Freeney posted a career low 5 sacks last season.  Surely, Denver Broncos Robert Ayers can match that number in 2013. Ayers is 27-years-old. Youth is important in the game of football. Players need to be able to play a lot of snaps. Denver shouldn’t feel as if they need to panic after losing Dumervil.  

Don’t be shocked if the Broncos pass on old timer  Freeney.  The NFL draft has a lot of prospects to offer Denver.  Drafting a stout Defensive lineman will not only make the Broncos a younger team, but also save them money.

Denver is still a heavy favorite to win the AFC West next season and make a run for the Super Bowl with or without Dumervil. 

At the end of the day Dumervil was a bad break up and I’m sure Denver would have loved to have him back in orange and blue, but losing Elvis was not significant enough to remove the Broncos from Super Bowl contention in 2013.