Von MIller, one of the NFL’s best pass rushers of his generation, is now on the open market after being released by the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones reported. The move, officially announced by the Bills, saves Buffalo $8.4 million in cap space.
Miller, who turns 36-years-old on March 26, has just six sacks across the last two seasons, but he and the Bills are open to a return on a new deal ahead of his 14th NFL season, per NFL Media. He signed a six-year, $120 million deal with Buffalo in the 2022 offseason after helping lead the Los Angeles Rams to a Super Bowl LVI title to conclude the 2021 season. Miller, the second overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, leads the entire NFL in sacks since 2010 with 129.5, a figure that also ranks as the 16th-most since sacks became an officially tracked individual statistic in 1982.
That production — along with eight Pro Bowl selections, three first-team All-Pro nods, a Super Bowl 50 MVP award and a 2011 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award — is why Miller is a member of the 2010’s All-Decade team and why he could have a number of contenders to choose from outside of the AFC runner-ups with the NFL’s legal tampering period beginning on Monday.
Where will Miller be playing in 2025? Let’s take a look at a five possible landing spots.
Buffalo Bills
At this stage of Miller’s career, he’s only looking to play for teams in the mix to win it all, so the AFC runner-ups led by 2024 NFL MVP quarterback Josh Allen check that box. Plus, he’s reportedly interested in returning to his NFL home of the last three seasons despite them releasing him. Buffalo is knocking on the door of a Super Bowl trip: their 61 wins since 2020 are the most in league history in a five-season span without a Super Bowl trip, per CBS Sports Research. Odds are their time is coming soon. All they have to do is get past the three-time defending AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs, who have knocked them out in four of the last five postseasons.
As the Super Bowl LIX champion Philadelphia Eagles showed, pressuring and sacking Patrick Mahomes is the key to victory. Miller and the recently re-signed Gregory Rousseau could use a little more help to get Buffalo over the top, but they’re right there.
Miller, who played his college football at Texas A&M, could be right at home in Houston on a young Texans squad looking to break through after consecutive AFC divisional round appearances. He wouldn’t even have a ton on his plate playing behind five-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Danielle Hunter and 2023 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Will Anderson Jr. That would be an ideal role Miller, one where he could be the veteran mentor while subbing in predominantly on clear passing downs.
The Ravens, like the Bills, are on the cusp of reaching a Super Bowl. Their 78 regular season wins in the last seven seasons are the most without a Super Bowl trip all-time, per CBS Sports Research. Offensively, their duo of two-time NFL MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson and 2020 NFL Offensive Player of the Year running back Derrick Henry combined for the most total yards (7,201) and rushing yards (2,836) in a single season in NFL history in 2024, per CBS Sports Research.
Defensively, Baltimore finished as a top 10 scoring defense (21.2 points per game allowed, ninth in the NFL) after leading the league in nearly every key defensive metric from Weeks 11-18. Miller would make sense for a Ravens squad looking to win now.
Los Angeles Rams
A return to the home of Miller’s second Super Bowl win could make some sense. They came the closest to knocking off the Eagles this past postseason, falling 28-22 in the NFC divisional round. All of the Rams’ defensive line’s top contributors — 2024 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Jared Verse, Braden Fiske, Kobie Turner and Byron Young — have been drafted in the past two years, so Miller could come in as a mentor for an ascending Los Angeles defensive line on the verge of leveling up.
Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs are the first time ever to reach five Super Bowls in a six-season, and they’ve come away with three titles in that span. Miller could be a nice veteran addition to an edge rusher group led by 2022 first-round pick George Karlaftis III.
Read the full article here