Elvis Dumervil is getting his reward for being the NFL’s best pass rusher in 2009. The Denver Broncos announced that the 26-year-old outside lineback/defensive end has signed a six-year $61.5 million deal with the team. Dumervil thrived n the Broncos 3-4 defense last season, leading the NFL with 17 sacks.  The University of Louisville product is listed at only 5′11, but is devastatingly quick off the ball. The player now has his contract settled in time to join his teammates at the beginning of Broncos training camp next Monday. Dumervil signed a bigger contract then fellow NFL pass rushers Jarred Allen and DeMarcus Ware. Since entering the NFL in 2006, Dumervil has recorded 43 sacks. In 2009, Dumervil made his first Pro Bowl and was a first-team All Pro selection.

From Drew Brees predicting #4’s return to the Minnesota Vikings to news that Brett Favre has been working out his surgically repaired ankle for a few weeks, it seems more and more likely everyday that the future hall-of-famer will return to the NFL this season. After previous off seasons where Favre’s decision to play or not to play dominated the headlines, it has been a much more subdued media blitz on Hattiesburg, Mississippi this year. It was reported that Favre has been throwing to high school receivers at the local school for a number of weeks. The 40-year-old has one of his best seasons in his career in the 2009-10 season, but was unable to defeat the New Orleans Saints in the NFC Championship game. Everyone wants to see Favre and Brees square off in the NFL season opener on September 9th at the Superdome. The 19 year NFL veteran has yet to tell the Minnesota Vikings if he will play next season.

All-Pro wide out Larry Fitzgerald is confident that the Arizona Cardinals can make the 2010-11 their third consecutive good season. Although the Cardinals will be without the now-retired Kurt Warner, Fitzgerald believes that the additions of Alan Faneca, Joey Porter, and rookie Dan Williams will keep the team in the Super Bowl hunt. The biggest mystery in Glendale is who will start under center in the Cardinals week one contest with the St. Louis Rams. Will Warner’s back up Matt Leinart finally be able to live up to the expectations or will former Cleveland Browns quarterback Derek Anderson take his job. Arizona has two running backs capable of having break out season in Tim Hightower and Beanie Wells, but the passing game is what has made the team succesful the past two years. The quarterback battle in Arizona should be one of the most intense in the NFL this summer.

Football may be the most popular sport in the United States, but the rest of the world is much more concerned with a different type of football. The sport we call soccer is growing in the United States, and with the World Cup kicking off this past weekend in South Africa many people connected to the NFL enjoying watching “The Beautiful Game” this off season.  Peter King of Sports Illustrated (arguably the top NFL writer in the country) even made the trip to South Africa and wrote a World Cup edition of his Monday Morning Quarterback column. On his twitter account, Chad Ochocinco commented about Messi, the US’s young striker Jozy Altidore, and shared some of his pics of himself with some of his favorite “footballers” like Thierry Henry and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Super Bowl MVP Drew Brees tweeted he liked what he saw from the US team in their historic 1-1 tie against England in Rustenberg. Brees’ teammate Darren Sharper even made the trip to South Africa. Larry Fitzgerald of the Arizona Cardinals celebrated US goal with a  “#USA yesssssssss!!!!!” chant and reminisced about playing goalie in grade school. Tony Gonzalez of the Atlanta Falcons tweeted “You got to love soccer…no commercials till halftime” while Packers’ QB defended his support of US Soccer urging fans to “show some love for that tie against one of the worlds best teams”. Minnesota Vikings kicker Rhys Lloyd and Englishmen even changed his twitter background to English national team’s Three Lions’ crest. With all this love for the World Cup in the NFL perhaps both footballs can exist in America.

New Orleans tight end Jeremy Shockey was hospitalized a week ago after experiencing “siezure-like symptoms”, but head coach Sean Payton says that his player was only dehydrated and was experience low blood sugar levels. Shockey played a crucial part in the Saints Super Bowl XLIV victory, catching a fourth quarter touchdown pass. The former New York Giant was cleared to practice on Thursday, but was held out of practice over precautionary back problems Shockey was experiencing. Shockey has been listed day-to-day. With 58 receptions and three touchdowns in 2009, Shockey looks to build on that success. The once-troubled star has fit in well in Sean Payton’s offense despite sharing his time with tight end David Thomas. The Saints open their season against the Minnesota Vikings on September 9th, 2010.

One of the biggest contributors to the New York Jets’ surprise run to the AFC Championship game was cornerback Darelle Revis. The 24-year-old has been nicknamed “Revis Island” for his ability to shut down the league’s best receivers. Despite being widely touted at the best cornerback in the NFL, Revis will only make $1 million in 2010 if the Jets don’t restructure his deal. There were rumors going around him wanting to paid $20 million, but the former Pitt Panther recently called that figure a bit high. Revis did  stress he wanted to be the highest paid defensive back in the NFL. There was a lot of criticism when Charles Woodson was named the Defensive Player of the Year over Revis. The Jets’ defensive backfield (anchored by Revis) only gave up 8 passing touchdowns in 2009. Currently, the richest CB in the NFL is Nnamdi Asomugha of the Oakland Raiders who makes around $15 million a year. Revis has made it known that the Jets have informed him that they promised him to get the deal done before training camp this summer.

The ongoing Brett Farve saga of “will he, won’t he” has taken another turn with news that the 40 year old quarterback will need surgery on his ankle if he wants to play this year for the Vikings. The future hall-of-famer had one of his best seasons in his 19 year career, passing for 4,202 yards, 33 TDs, and a career low 7 interceptions. It is not clear if the surgery will prevent Farve from starting the Vikings opening game, should he decide to return to the NFL for his 20th her the NFL. Last season, Farve had a torn bicep surgically repaired amazingly by Dr. James Andrews. The Vikings and Farve were one interception away from going to the Super Bowl last year, and with only a few players leaving Minneapolis this off season many are expecting the same success for the Purple People Eaters. Though there are plenty of people who are over caring about if Farve returns to the game, but I for one would love to see #4 for one more year in the NFL.

Following his second sexual abuse scandal, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has been suspended by the NFL for up to six games of the 2010 NFL season. It is possible that the two-time Super Bowl champion get his punishment reduced to four games on good behavior, but should Roethlisberger serve his full suspension it would cost him a reportedly $2.8 million in salary. There have also been reports that the Steelers front office has even reached out to teams about trading Roethlisberger for a first round draft pick. The franchise also brought in Byron Leftwich to cover their bases should Big Ben get suspended. Any team that would decided to trade for the shamed athlete could heap a mess of bad press all over their organization, but they would be getting a player who has consistently been one of the best in the league.

Does the Miami Dolphin’s trade for Brandon Marshall make the Fins a legitimate contender in the AFC East this season? Maybe. Let’s take a look. The Dolphins went 7-9 last year, but did show some promise. Miami lost there last three games of the year by less than a touchdown. Had the Dolphins found a way to win those final trio of games against Tennessee, Houston, and Pittsburgh, they would’ve been a playoff team. Chad Henne is still a young quarterback, but he showed some progress throughout the season. The Dolphins already have a talented young receiver/kick returner in Ted Ginn Jr. and adding Marshall to the mix could really cause defense problems. Davone Bess led the team in receptions last season with 76 catches, but had only two touchdowns. The Fins also saw the rebirth of Ricky Williams last season, with the controversial running back rushing for over 1, 000 yards. Williams teammate Ronnie Brown also added 638 yards on the ground last season and scored 8 touchdowns. Add Pro Bowl left tackle Jake Long to the mix and Miami’s offense looks pretty solid for next year. If the Dolphins can improve their defense they could give the Patriots, Jets, and Buffalo Bills some serious problems this year.

When comparing themselves to the empty trophy cases of the Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings, and Cleveland Browns the Redskins shouldn’t feel too bad about their franchise. The Skins won Super Bowls in 1982, 1987, and 1991, but they only made two playoff appearances in the 2000’s. Owner Daniel Snyder has thrown plenty of money at big name players in recent years like Albert Haynesworth and DeAngelo Hall, but the team has struggled at the quarterback position for years. McNabb has consistently been a top-tier quarterback in the NFL for a long time and could still have a number of years ahead of him at age 33. In the backfield, McNabb will have three former stars in Clinton Portis, Larry Johnson, and Willie Parker. At receiver McNabb will get to throw to proven players like Santana Moss and Chris Cooley while youngsters Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kellyhave shown potential. With McNabb under center most experts will likely at least mark the Redskins as a legitimate playoff contender for the 2010-11 season.