Deal

An offseason of losses gave way to a big Ravens gain Sunday night as they announced that they have agreed in principle on a five-year deal with former Denver Broncos defensive end Elvis Dumervil. Dumervil, a three-time Pro Bowl selection who had 63 ½ sacks and 16 forced fumbles in six seasons with the Broncos, will be at the Ravens' facility Tuesday to take a physical and - if all goes well - to sign a contract. “I think this move is awesome,” Ravens outside linebacker Terrell Suggs told The Baltimore Sun. “It shows we're still in the business of winning and we have the best [general manager]

That big collective sigh you heard late Sunday came from Ravens Nation, which was in full-scale panic mode and exhausting the region's supply of Xanax until the news of Elvis Dumervil's deal came down. What a heist Ozzie Newsome pulled off, something on the scale of "Ocean's 11," only without a casino involved. Let's see, the Ravens get one of the best pass rushers in the league to replace Paul Kruger, who pulled off his own heist when he got the Cleveland Browns to pay him $40 million over five years.

The sight couldn't have been easy for Ravens fans: Ed Reed wearing a Houston Texans' hat and later holding up a blue No. 20 jersey. For Reed, a Raven for 11 seasons and one of the franchise's best ever players, it wasn't an easy decision either. At a news conference Friday in Houston in which he was introduced as the newest Texan, Reed called leaving the Ravens “probably the hardest thing ever in life.” “It's not so much as leaving, because like I said, I'm going to be part of the community, and I'm going to be part of this community.

The Federal Aviation Administration plans to close five air traffic control towers in Maryland — among 149 nationwide — to comply with across-the-board budget cuts mandated by Congress, a move that could clog operations at BWI Marshall Airport. Even though the tower at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport is not among the closings, the FAA decision to shut down one at Martin State Airport in Baltimore County could lead to more flights using the larger airport.

It took former Ravens safety Bernard Pollard a little over a week to find a new home. Pollard has agreed to sign a one-year deal with the Tennessee Titans, putting him back in the AFC South, his agent, Tory Dandy confirmed on Twitter this morning. Pollard, 28, played two seasons with the Houston Texans before signing with the Ravens. In a somewhat surprising move, the Ravens released Pollard on March 13 despite the fact that he was their leading tackler this past season.

For so long, they had been the two faces of one of the league's most dominant defenses, Ray Lewis the punishing tackler and Ed Reed the unrelenting ball hawk. Now, they are both gone and the mass exodus from the Ravens defense continues. About six weeks after Lewis retired following his last game as a Raven, Reed moved closer to signing a two-year deal with the Houston Texans, who aggressively pursued the 34-year-old safety over the last week. Terms of the deal aren't known and there are still a few things that have to be worked out, but it's clear that Reed and the organization that he had played with for the last 11 years have parted ways.

I sat down with Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti today at the league meetings and we discussed a variety of topics. The Q&A will be on our site momentarily. However, since I've been getting the most questions about his thoughts on free agent safety Ed Reed, I figured I'd put up his comments that just related to that topic. They are below: Where are things at with free agent safety Ed Reed and would it be tough to lose Reed and Ray Lewis the same offseason? Bisciotti: " I don't think the same offseason matters much.

Orioles outfielder Steve Pearce continued his spring power surge Sunday afternoon, hitting his team-high fourth homer in the Orioles' road split-squad game against the Phillies at Bright House Field. Pearce took an 0-2 pitch from Zach Miner over the left field fence in the second inning for a solo shot to give the Orioles a 1-0 lead. Miner relieved Phillies starter Roy Halladay, who left the game after just one inning with a stomach virus. With the homer, Pearce is hitting .407 (11-for-27)

Former Baltimore prep basketball star Aquille Carr plans to pursue a professional career overseas instead of playing at Seton Hall next season, he announced Saturday evening after he scored 52 points in his final high school game. Carr, who played his senior season at Princeton Day Academy in Laurel, had strongly hinted at his intentions in an interview last month and again in a series of tweets last week. He verbally committed to Seton Hall early last year and maintained all along that if he played in college, that would be his destination.

The University of Maryland's deal to join the Big Ten includes not only the lucrative annual payouts that all members receive, but also a significant concession obtained by the school - a subsidy worth tens of millions of dollars from the conference to offset athletic teams' anticipated higher travel costs, according to multiple sources. The subsidy, which Maryland was promised in negotiations with the conference late last year, made an already appealing offer of Big Ten membership even more attractive to the school.