Report: Buffalo Bills split on bringing back Von Miller

Former Denver Broncos star pass rusher Von Miller could be on the open market very soon as the Buffalo Bills mull cutting the veteran, according to a report from ESPN.

Miller was part of the effort to end the Broncos season this past fall, playing 21 snaps in the Bills 31-7 win over Denver in the NFL Playoffs. Though his time in Buffalo has been a bit of a disappointment since signing a six-year, $120 million deal. Now, the Bills could save $17.5 million of cap space by releasing him this year with a post-June 1 designation.

Miller had six sacks this past season in a rotational role where he was productive on a limited basis. His pass rush win rate is 10th-best in the NFL among edge rushers with at least 100 pass rush snaps, per Pro Football Focus. But that doesn’t mean he’s worth the $23,874,000 cap figure that looms for Buffalo in 2025.

“Buffalo hasn’t ruled out bringing back veteran edge rusher Von Miller, who turns 36 later this month. But the Bills have to find a way to rework his contract and get him to agree to a pay cut from his currently scheduled $17.5 million. One source I spoke to described Miller’s return to Buffalo as a “50-50″ proposition,” ESPN’s NFL insiders write.

Miller was a 10-year member of the Broncos, traded to the Los Angeles Rams back in 2021—where he helped the team to a title. A few months later, he signed this deal with Buffalo, where he’s played the last three seasons.

Miller could still be a valued member of a winning NFL team in 2025, maybe just not in Buffalo for that amount of money. And, likely, the pass rusher is best suited not to be in Denver either.

Our Andrew Mason wrote a few months ago, “The Broncos are in the best position they’ve been at this key spot (pass rusher) since the 2015 and 2016 seasons. (Nik) Bonitto is a Pro Bowler; (Jonathan) Cooper has a four-year contract extension and 19 sacks over the last two years. (Jonah) Elliss and (Dondrea) Tillman — both in their first NFL seasons with three more years of team control — are promising. And Tillman — who arrived from the United Football League in the summer — actually leads Broncos edge rushers in pressure rate, according to Next Gen Stats and Pro Football Focus.

Miller has a higher pressure rate than any Broncos edge — 17.9 percent. But his hit rate of one QB hit or sack every 24.3 pass-rush snaps would rank below both Bonitto and Tillman.

The Broncos’ depth on the edge allowed them to trade Baron Browning to Arizona one day before the league’s trade deadline. It also helped spur the decision to give Drew Sanders more repetitions at inside linebacker after working with the edge rushers upon his return from the physically-unable-to-perform list.”

While Cooper will say Miller is his GOAT of pass rushers and it would be a good moment for Broncos Country, certainly Miller even would love to come ‘home,’ in the 50% chance Miller is on the open market it might not make much sense for the Broncos to get their franchise icon back.

Miller will be in the Ring of Fame sooner than later, but that doesn’t mean the timing is right for him to rejoin the Broncos on the field at Mile High.