The 2024 season will be a potential franchise-defining year for the Buffalo Bills. The roster looks a lot different than it has in recent memory on both sides of the ball. General manager Brandon Beane has had to make some tough decisions in order to get the salary cap under control, which meant saying goodbye to a roster that helped change the culture in Buffalo when he and Sean McDermott arrived. The Bills are a lot younger across the roster and could very well have some growing pains this season. However, Josh Allen is in the prime of his career and as long as he continues to play at a high level, the Bills will always be in the conversation as a contender.
While Buffalo has Allen and promising young players that can keep them near the top of the league, there is one player that has not lived up to the expectations that were put on him when he signed with the Bills in 2022. Future Hall of Fame edge rusher Von Miller made the shocking decision to sign with the Bills in the 2022 offseason after winning a Super Bowl with the Los Angeles Rams. He had signed a six-year deal worth $120 million and was expected to bring his talents and ability to close out games to bring joy to Buffalo. At the time, the Bills did not have a consistent pass rush, and adding Miller was the perfect addition to a Super Bowl roster.
He recorded eight sacks in 11 games but things took a turn for the worse on Thanksgiving Day when he suffered a torn ACL and was ruled out for the remainder of the season. It was his second torn ACL in his career and he would miss the first month of last season before taking the field in Week Five. From that point on, Miller was more of a liability than an asset. Miller played no more than 46% of the defensive snaps last year, recording only three tackles, and was even a healthy scratch in Week 17 against the New England Patriots.
Von Miller's contract looks awful right now.
David Kenyon from Bleacher Report listed the ten worst contracts heading into the 2024 season and to no surprise, Miller’s contract was listed. Kenyon talked about how Miller opted to take a pay cut this offseason but it still doesn’t change the fact that Miller has the second-highest cap number heading into this season at $15.1 million. Next offseason, it would not be surprising to see Miller get released from the Bills post-June 1st as the dead cap number would only be $6.3 million according to overthecap.com.
Miller is heading into a crucial year with the Bills and if he is looking to play any more football beyond 2024, he will need to take a leap forward in the right direction to show flashes of the player he once was when he was with the Denver Broncos.