When the Buffalo Bills made arguably the biggest splash signing of the 2022 offseason with Von Miller, it was supposed to put the team over the top to capture their first Super Bowl in franchise history. Miller chose to sign with the Bills after coming off a Super Bowl win with the Los Angeles Rams. Adding him to a defense that had just fallen apart in the infamous “13-second” game against was the perfect fix heading into 2022.
Playing in just 11 games in 2022, Miller recorded 8 sacks along with 21 total tackles. Buffalo went up to Detroit (for the consecutive week) to take on the Lions and while they escaped with a Thanksgiving Day win, they suffered a major loss when Miller went down with a knee injury that resulted in a torn ACL. The injury put Miller on the IR and took him out for the first four weeks of last season.
Miller was cleared to come back in Week 5 against the Jacksonville Jaguars when the Bills were in London. There was a great amount of excitement with Miller’s return, but it turned out to be a massive disappointment. Miller’s production was so bad down the stretch, he was a healthy scratch in Week 17 against the New England Patriots. At the end of the year, Miller had just three total tackles.
There is no denying that coming back from a major injury is difficult. Maybe Miller should have waited longer to return so that he could have been his regular self rather than forcing a comeback just to potentially regress at a higher rate. The same situation happened a year prior with Tre’Davious White, who tore his ACL on Thanksgiving in 2021. The biggest difference was that White took his sweet time getting back, while Miller looked to have rushed it.
Can the Bills get the best out of Miller in 2024?
There is no excuse as to why Miller can’t deliver high-level football for the Bills next season. He has had a full offseason to get prepared and it is now or never for him. He is already on his way to the Hall of Fame and he has two Super Bowl rings. However, he showed his commitment to the Bills this offseason by taking a pay cut.
When pressure is on the Bills, they have shown that they can deliver and Miller is part of that equation. As long as Miller stays healthy and can return to his old form, it is hard to say Miller won’t deliver for the Bills defense. However, the biggest impact that he can bring to this team is by helping the development of Greg Rousseau and A.J. Epenesa, both of whom stepped up big time in Miller’s absence and comeback.