One of, if not the biggest splash of the 2022 offseason, was the Buffalo Bills shocking the NFL by signing future Hall of Fame pass-rusher Von Miller to a massive six-year, $120 million deal. The Bills were coming off one of their most heartbreaking losses in the playoffs where they just had to hold off the Kansas City Chiefs for 13 seconds, but failed to do so.
They didn’t have a closer who could pressure Patrick Mahomes to disrupt a play when it mattered the most. Brandon Beane decided to take a big swing by bringing Miller to the Bills and were hoping that he would be the player that put the Bills over the top. Three years later, it turned out to be a bit of a disaster when you look at the production Miller had the last 2.5 seasons.
The two-time Super Bowl champion (and former NFL MVP), had five consecutive seasons of 10+ sacks with the Denver Broncos. When he was traded to the Los Angeles Rams in 2021, he still managed to put up five sacks (9.5 sacks) that season and became a difference-maker for the Rams.
As a member of the Bills, fans really loved his start in Buffalo where he had eight sacks in 11 games. Then he suffered his second torn ACL of his career on Thanksgiving Day and was never the same player. He missed the rest of the 2022 season, only had three tackles (no sacks) in 12 games in 2023, and then he finished this past season with 6 sacks.
NFL insider predicts Von Miller will be out of Buffalo this offseason
Dan Graziano from ESPN.com went into depth about each major question for all 32 NFL teams regarding their salary cap (subscription required).
Per Graziano, the Bills do not have to pay Miller anymore guaranteed money despite still have three years left on his contract. Miller only played on 33% of snaps in 2024, just one percent higher than 2023. He had two tackles and one fumble recovery in the playoffs. That’s it.
It’s quite simple, it didn’t work out between Miller and the Bills. Credit should be given to Beane for taking the big swing of bringing Miller to Buffalo to try and put the Bills in the Super Bowl. This past season was the closest the Bills got to the Super Bowl with Miller on the team, but he certainly was not a big contributor at all. It’s time for the Bills to move on from Miller and figure out their plan at pass-rusher outside of Greg Rousseau.