Despite offseason incident, Dumervil named Broncos captain

Elvis Dumervil finishes a drill at Day 5 of training camp, July 30, 2012.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — There are some old, some new and some surprising faces on the list of the Denver Broncos’ team captains for the 2012 season, which was released Wednesday.

The names Peyton Manning and Champ Bailey highlighted the chosen few on both sides of the ball. It’s a familiar role for both veterans. This is Bailey sixth season as a captain and Manning’s 11th, though it’s the latter’s first crack at the leadership role with his new team.

The biggest surprise may have been Elvis Dumervil. Though his experience and production are unquestioned — he leads the team with 40 sacks over his seven-year tenure with the team, the third-longest on the defense — his behavior away from the field came under fire this year.

Though no charges were filed following the incident, Dumervil was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon in July following a dispute over a parking spot in Miami.

The defensive end insisted he did nothing wrong and that he was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. His teammates stood by him through the incident and ensuing fallout and made that support public Wednesday, voting him captain.

Offensive guard Chris Kuper, who has also spent seven seasons in Denver, was also among the captain selections despite the fact that he will likely miss the first three weeks of the season as he recovers from a broken arm.

One of the teammates for whom Kuper blocks, Willis McGahee, will serve as an interim captain during the offensive lineman’s absence. McGahee, a 10th-year veteran, led the Broncos with 1,199 rushing yards in 2011.

Linebacker Wesley Woodyard, who figures to get some time on the defensive side of the ball, was named the teams special teams captain for the fourth consecutive season.