One of the biggest misses for the Buffalo Bills is on the defense with Von Miller. Brandon Beane swooped in and signed the future Hall of Famer back in 2022 to become the closer that the Bills lacked in the 4th quarter. Through the first half of the 2022 season, Miller made his presence known and was an impactful player with racking up eight sacks. Then his downhill arrived when he tore his ACL on Thanksgiving. Miller returned earlier than anticipated the following season and was nothing more than a liability.
He had more games of being a healthy scratch than a sack. Sure, it is not easy coming back from a major injury but maybe he should have taken more time to heal up. However, that is in the past and Miller will be looking to bounce back this upcoming season.
It was reported earlier in training camp by Matthew Bove that “Von Miller looks like Von Miller”. Bove was referring to the Miller that was pre-Buffalo.
Von Miller looks like Von Miller, which is a very good sign for the Bills.
— Matthew Bové (@Matt_Bove) July 30, 2024
Throughout training camp, Miller has been noted as consistently going up against Spencer Brown. While Brown is nowhere near the player that Miller is, seeing Miller having good reps against a much improved offensive lineman from last season is great news to hear about.
The Bills desperately need Miller to bounce back in 2024
While it is just training camp and meaningful games will show us how Miller is, it is great to hear that there is optimism surrounding him. With this new-look defense on the backend, the defensive line is going to have to step up big time to take pressure off of the secondary. That is going to start with guys like Miller, Greg Rousseau, and A.J. Epenesa.
"It all starts with the defensive line"#Bills pass rusher Von Miller on his expectations for this year's defense and the "monster" seasons he sees for his teammates🔊⬇️#BillsCamp #BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/EhhjFF8nYv
— One Bills Live (@OneBillsLive) August 5, 2024
With the defense once again taking on some early injuries, Bobby Babich and Sean McDermott are going to need others to step up even more to create the best game plan possible. The good news for Miller is that Rousseau and Epenesa proved their worth last year so he doesn’t need to take on the heavy load for this defensive line. At the same time, Miller has the most expensive contract so the Bills are hoping that he can start to live up to the contract he was given two years ago.
Bills fans should keep observing how Miller continues his progression throughout camp. It will be very interesting to see if Miller gets any preseason reps.