Elvis Dumervil's 2010 season is officially sacked.
The Denver Broncos had been holding out hope that their best pass rusher would make a quicker-than-anticipated recovery from a torn chest muscle and return to action in December. However, Dumervil posted a message on his Twitter account Friday night, confirming NFL Network insider Michael Lombardi's report that the linebacker will go on injured reserve, ending his season.
Dumervil wrote in all caps: "To all my fans, thanks for the all the support & kind words but this season for me is over due to my injury that occur during training camp."
The Broncos were expected to file the transaction with the league office Saturday. They placed running back LenDale White on injured reserve Friday after medical tests confirmed he had ruptured his right Achilles' tendon in Denver's preseason finale Thursday night in Minnesota.
Dumervil led the league with 17 sacks last season after he moved from defensive end to outside linebacker when coach Josh McDaniels arrived from the New England Patriots and switched to a 3-4 defensive scheme. Dumervil parlayed his breakout season into a five-year, $58.332 million contract extension in late July, including $43.168 million in guarantees against injury, a record for a player at his position.
Dumervil, 26, was injured during the first week of training camp last month while doing a 1-on-1 blocking drill with offensive lineman Tyler Polumbus. Dumervil had surgery shortly afterward with an anticipated recovery time of four to five months.
McDaniels told The Associated Press last month that he hoped to hold open a spot on the 53-man roster for Dumervil, but only if it were feasible for both parties, and the medical experts believed the linebacker might recover in time to return to the field for the final month of the season.
"We'll make the best decision for him and for our team," McDaniels said at the time.
Either way, McDaniels said the Broncos would sprinkle in some of the old 4-3 defensive alignments during the upcoming season that kicks off Sept. 12 at Jacksonville.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
