Broncos LB Dumervil coukd be out for season has 0 comments

Aug 5th 2010, 23:02 | FFN-Score: 50 points

Two weeks after signing a long-term contract extension, Denver Broncos Pro Bowl linebacker Elvis Dumervil tore a pectoral muscle and will miss significant time, a source with knowledge of the situation told NFL Network insider Jason La Canfora on Thursday.

The injury is expected to take four months to heal, meaning Dumervil, who led the NFL with a team-record 17 sacks this past season, could miss the entire 2010 season. The injury typically requires surgery, which the Denver Post reported Dumervil likely will have.

However, the Broncos won't rush to put Dumervil on injured reserve, pending a second opinion, and could carry him on their roster for a while, according to the source. If the Broncos fell out of the playoff race, they could shut down Dumervil for the season, the source added.

Dumervil left practice Wednesday night holding his right arm and did not return. The Post reported Dumervil hurt his chest in a one-on-one pass drill against Tyler Polumbus.

Dumervil, 26, parlayed his breakout 2009 season into a five-year, $58.332 million extension last month that included $43.168 million in guarantees, a record for a pass rusher. He has signed his free-agent tender earlier this summer for $680,000 and then received the extension, which included a $3 million signing bonus, for a total value of $61.5 million.

Without Dumervil, the Broncos lack a bona fide pass rusher. Defensive lineman Darrell Reid had four sacks last year, the most of any other returning Broncos player.

But Reid is currently sidelined with a knee ailment and hasn't participated in training camp.

The other outside linebackers this season, former first-round picks Robert Ayers and Jarvis Moss, didn't have a sack last year.

The Broncos were hoping that new nose tackle Jamal Williams would practice for the first time at camp Thursday. McDaniels hasn't said whether Williams has been held out for injury or conditioning reasons. The 348-pound Williams was brought in to help push the pocket and allow Dumervil to get to the quarterback more often.

Now, that plan has to be altered.

Training camp has gotten off to a bad start for the Broncos. They lost their top two tailbacks, Correll Buckhalter (back) and Knowshon Moreno (hamstring), on the first day of camp.

Inside linebacker D.J. Williams, one of the leaders of the defense, has missed practices for unspecified reasons.

Just when the Broncos received backfield reinforcements by signing LenDale White on Wednesday, their All-Pro linebacker got hurt.

Dumervil prospered last season in the Broncos' new defensive look that converted him from a classic 4-3 defensive end into a stand-up outside linebacker in the 3-4.

Despite his diminutive stature -- 5-foot-11 and 248 pounds -- Dumervil possesses long arms and a low center of gravity, making him difficult to defend.

He has 43 sacks since being drafted in the fourth round out of the University of Louisville in 2006.

Dumervil was anticipating another big season, too, joking around before camp began about the pressures of trying to defend his sacks crown.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.