Buffalo Bills: Von Miller ruled out for Week 13 with knee injury
On Friday, head coach Sean McDermott met with the media after the Buffalo Bills’ 28-25 victory over the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving. Not surprisingly one of the first topics was about former All-Pro pass rusher Von Miller, who left the game early due to a knee injury.
The good news was that Miller did avoid an ACL injury but suffered other damage to his knee, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. While it wasn’t season-ending, there is some question about when or if he might be able to return.
According to Rapoport, Miller suffered a lateral meniscus tear and this gives some options as he could even play with the injury and push surgery off until after the season. Based on this reporting, it wasn’t surprising to hear that McDermott and the team had already ruled out Von Miller for next Thursday’s divisional matchup with the New England Patriots.
Von Miller’s absence is a big loss for the Buffalo Bills’ defense
Regardless of how much time Von Miller misses due to this injury, his absence creates a major hole for this defense. The Bills signed Miller this offseason to a massive six-year contract because they knew they needed a big-time pass rusher for this defense.
Through the first 11 games, Miller has been exactly what the team needed as he had eight sacks, 10 tackles for a loss, and 12 QB hits. He has brought great veteran leadership to the position as well with players like Greg Rousseau taking a major step forward in his second season in the NFL.
The coaching staff must now come up with a plan for how to replace the absence of Von Miller. While it is great that he has the potential to return at some point this season, that uncertainty will force the team to plan for a multitude of outcomes as they should still be a playoff team and looking to compete for a Super Bowl this season.
