Von Miller was once the face of the Denver Broncos franchise.
In 2021, a decade into Miller’s historic career, GM George Paton traded Miller to the Los Angeles Rams, where he went on to win another Super Bowl that year. That was a clear sign of what was to come for the Broncos, something long-time exec John Elway wouldn’t fully commit to after Super Bowl 50: a rebuild.
Since then, the Broncos have fast-tracked their rebuild and are coming off a loss in the AFC championship game. The Broncos found their franchise quarterback, and Bo Nix is the new face of the franchise.
Meanwhile, Miller has spent the past few seasons with the Buffalo Bills and the Washington Commanders. He totaled nine sacks last season in Washington at age 36.
Miller is currently a free agent and has been very outspoken about his desire to return to the Broncos. Denver has largely ignored his public pleas, although Nik Bonitto recently addressed the Miller topic, praising the Super Bowl 50 MVP and noting how much fans and players would relish a return to the Mile High City.
But is there actually a place for Miller on this roster?
No Room With a Special Teams Role
To put it simply, the answer is no. As great as it would be to have Miller back in Denver, the obvious spot isn’t there. It’s hard to dismiss the prospect of a Broncos legend helping teach and mentor the team’s current rush linebacker room, but who would be the odd man out if the team did bring him back?
It isn’t because of Miller’s skill set at his age or how he could contribute on defense, with Dondrea Tillman, Que Robinson, and even Jonah Elliss likely helping to fill out the depth at the position behind Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper. The main reason is special teams, which Miller isn’t interested in doing at this stage of his future Hall-of-Fame career.
Last year, the Broncos’ No. 3 and No. 4 pass rushers, Tillman and Elliss, played the third and fourth-most special teams snaps, both over 300. If Miller wants to be a depth piece for the Broncos, he would have to be willing to play special teams.
Even if Miller was willing to contribute on special teams, the question would then become how much he actually has to offer as a third-phase player.
The El-Way
However, there is another way the Broncos could make a place for Miller, and it would involve something he’s spoken about as a post-playing-career ambition. He is interested in eventually becoming a general manager, like his former boss, Elway, and wants to work in a front office to grow and develop into a potential decision-maker for a team.
Now, Denver recently signed Paton to a five-year extension, but there has been a lot of interest in the front office he has built around him, with assistant GM Reed Burckhardt making it to the second round of interviews for the Minnesota Vikings general manager vacancy.
Teams are seeing what Paton has done in Denver and want to grab a piece of that, in the form of his top lieutenants. It was Darren Mougey and the New York Jets last year, and it could be Burckhardt and the Vikings this year.
Perhaps the Broncos would be willing to let Miller get his foot in the door, start the learning process, and climb the front-office ladder.
The Takeaway
Again, there isn’t a place for Miller as a player. The special teams aspect is important and can’t be overlooked, but if he is ready to hang it up and move into the front office, maybe the Broncos legend could find a place with the organization again.
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