Elvis Dumervil

Despite his collegiate success and comparisons to Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney, Dumervil was selected on the second day of the NFL Draft due to concerns about his small size (5'11", 258 pounds), and the fact that he went without a sack in his final three collegiate games. This may have been due to being consistently double-teamed, but it was perceived by some as a sign of fatigue. Several teams considered moving him to linebacker or only using him in pass rushing situations.

Dumervil was drafted in the fourth round of the 2006 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos. Broncos coach Mike Shanahan stated that he planned to keep Dumervil at defensive end.[4]

Dumervil with the Broncos in 2011.

Early in his rookie season, Dumervil saw little playing time. However, his minutes increased as the season progressed and he finished the year with 8.5 sacks in 13 games. In the first game of the 2007 NFL season, he would get the first interception of his career. Dumervil would go on to lead the Broncos, and finish among league leaders, with 12.5 sacks in 2007.

His half-brother, Curry Burns, also played at the University of Louisville and was drafted by the Houston Texans in the 2003 NFL Draft.[5]

With the Josh McDaniels coaching regime entering the 2009 season, defensive coordinator Mike Nolan moved Dumervil around as an outside linebacker in his 3-4 defensive scheme, but keeping him as a defensive end on 4-2-5 passing down situations.[6] Dumervil led the league in sacks with 17, and tied a franchise record with 4 in the Sep 20 game against Cleveland. At the conclusion of the season, Dumervil was a near unanimous selection for the All-Pro Team, receiving 46 out of the 50 total votes. He also finished third in voting for Defensive Player of the Year.[7]

In July 2010, Dumervil signed a six-year $61.5 million contract extension (including $43.168 million in guaranteed payments) to keep him with the Broncos through 2015.[8] However, on August 4, 2010, Dumervil suffered a torn pectoral muscle during practice, and missed the entire 2010 season.[9][10]

Dumervil in 2014.

Dumervil's contract specified that if he were on the roster at 2:00 PM MT (4:00 PM ET) on March 15, 2013, his $12 million salary for the 2013 season would be fully guaranteed. The Broncos, looking to free up room under the salary cap, reached an agreement to restructure his contract to reduce his 2013 salary cap hit. However, Dumervil and his agent faxed the paperwork six minutes late at 2:06 PM MT, which caused the Broncos to release Dumervil rather than allow the $12 million to be guaranteed. As a result, while the Broncos could have re-signed Dumervil as soon as Saturday, March 16, they accrued $4.869 million in "dead money" against their 2013 cap,[11] in addition to any salary cap hits from the new contract. The snafu led Dumervil to fire his agent.[12]

On March 24, 2013, Dumervil agreed to a 5-year-deal with the Baltimore Ravens worth $35 million, including $8.5 million in the first year of the deal.[13] Dumervil was given No. 58 – his college number at Louisville and the number of Peter Boulware, one of the greatest pass rushers in Ravens' history – with Baltimore because Pro Bowl defensive tackle Haloti Ngata had worn No. 92 – the number Dumervil wore in Denver – for his entire career with the Ravens.[14]

Dumervil finished his 2014 season tying his career high of sacks with 17, as well as forcing two fumbles. The 17 sacks set a new Baltimore Ravens franchise record. Dumervil and Terrell Suggs combined for the most sacks by a pair in the regular season, as Suggs had 12 of his own and the two totaled 29. He was voted to his fourth Pro Bowl and also named to the Associated Press's All-Pro first team.

Dumervil was the highest ranked Raven on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2015 list, coming in at number 46. He was the third highest ranked outside linebacker, behind fellow All-Pros Justin Houston and Von Miller.

Dumervil's production would slow down drastically in 2015, despite starting all 16 games for the Ravens for the first time.

In Week 3, Dumervil sacked Andy Dalton and forced a fumble, which was recovered by linebacker C.J. Mosley and returned 41 yards for a touchdown. However, the Bengals still won 28-24.

In Week 10, Dumervil sacked Blake Bortles twice and defended a pass, but he also ruined Baltimore's chances of winning. On what appeared to be the game's final play, the Jaguars got a snap off before the clock could hit zero, Dumervil ran past the Jacksonville offensive line untouched and got to Bortles. However, he was called for a facemask penalty, giving the Jaguars one last chance to win the game, and they did after kicking a 53-yard field goal with no time left. However, it was determined that Baltimore should have won the game regardless, as the Jaguars were not set on the line during the play in which Dumervil was flagged.

Dumervil's final decent performance of the year came against the Browns on Monday Night Football, where he had 1.5 sacks in a 33-27 win. Dumervil ended the year with 6 sacks, a defended pass and a forced fumble.

Dumervil was selected to play in the 2016 Pro Bowl as an alternate, and arrived in Hawaii after an airline mix up that sent his bags to Japan.[15] He recorded one tackle in the game.

On March 8, 2017, Dumervil was released by the Ravens.[16]

On June 5, 2017, Dumervil signed with the San Francisco 49ers.[17] In 16 games with the 49ers in 2017, Dumervil recorded 6.5 sacks.

On March 9, 2018, the 49ers did not pick up the 2018 option on Dumervil's contract, making him a free agent.[18]

On August 30, 2018, Dumervil announced his retirement from the NFL.[19]