FRISCO – It is an idea that frankly is popping up now about three years too late.
The Buffalo Bills seem likely to find a way to divorce themselves from once-great pass-rusher Von Miller and his $120 million contract. Their big-time signing in 2022 – which came while the Dallas-area native was also making noise about a willingness to take less to play for his hometown Cowboys – never quite panned out.
Miller and the albatross of his contract make him a possible Buffalo cut, with another chance at free agency in his future.
Von Miller At The Star
By Tony Fisher
And that’s where the Cowboys-related rumors are coming from, with one site calling him a “best fit” in Dallas.
Bills head coach Sean McDermott remains a fan of the likely future Hall of Famer.
“Love Von,” McDermott told reporters at the NFL Scouting Combine. “The thing I love about Von is he very rarely, if ever, used kind of the ‘victim role’ approach. He always was, ‘Hey, I’m coming back. I’m going to be back. I’m working on it.’ Mentally, he’s just so elite. To come off a knee injury, particularly when you’re 30-plus, is a challenge. …”
Indeed, Miller, who will turn 36 in March, last year logged six sacks in 13 games. Interestingly, he ended up posting the 18th-most snaps on the defense. … the very definition of a “spot” player.
A post-June 1 cut would reportedly net $11 million in cap savings; this seems like an easy call in Buffalo.
“We’re still working through all that … Von last year at this time, we were working on a restructure with him, and he did something unprecedented,” GM Brandon Beane said. “He was guaranteed 10 or 11 (million dollars) and he took a pay cut below his actual guarantee. And you’re talking about a first-ballot Hall of Famer that did that. So a lot of respect for what he did to come back and try and help us chase this trophy. And as the year went on, he showed he can still play.”
Is it time for Dallas to examine whether that’s true? Whether he’s a “best fit”?
Miller is a member of the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team. He’s an eight-time Pro Bowler, and there was a time when 14 sacks was simply pretty much what he’d threaten to do.
The Cowboys don’t need to chase names in free agency; they need talent that fits into the salary cap pie. Miller once said he’d take less to play here in his hometown.
Maybe Dallas should take him up on that by offering less – way, way less.
