After 135 games, 8 pro bowls and 1 magnificent Super Bowl MVP, all pro linebacker Von Miller will return to the Denver Broncos for at least 1 more season as the Broncos exercised his contract option for 2021.
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The Option was a part of a six year, $114.5M deal Von Miller signed in July 2016.
The two sides had talks to lower the cap number that went nowhere. But the #Broncos won’t let Von Miller go. So the plan is to play on $18M. https://t.co/eiaqXAmOmA
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 16, 2021
Miller took to Instagram to express his excitement on returning to Denver. “I have totally bought into being a Coloradoan for life, let alone a Denver Bronco,” he wrote.
The former Super Bowl MVP continued, “I want to be here forever through the thick, the thin, the Super Bowl seasons, the losing seasons. I want to be here forever.”
The Broncos and Miller did have talks to reduce his cap hit but “that went nowhere”, after which the team decided to exercise his option either way.
Forever. 🧡
(via @VonMiller) pic.twitter.com/McEj7aKNrN
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) March 16, 2021
Why is Von Miller so special to the Denver Broncos?
John Elway selected Von Miller as his first draft pick as a general manager in the 2011 draft. The former No. 2 overall pick took the league by storm in his first year, racking up a monster 11.5 sacks. He was the Defensive Rookie of the Year and was selected to the Pro Bowl in only his first season.
Von Miller made the Pro Bowl 8 of his first 9 seasons. He was named First team All-Pro for 3 of these seasons. In one of the greatest individual performances in Denver Bronco history, Von Miller was a nightmare for Cam Newton in Super Bowl 50.
Miller took over the game, with 2.5 sacks and 2 forced fumbles, one of which was recovered for a touchdown. Von Miller was also named Super Bowl MVP and is 1 of only 10 defensive players to achieve that accolade.
Miller had double-digit sacks in 7 seasons between 2011 and 2018. Von, however, did have only 8 sacks in 2019, which was the lowest in his career for a season with over 9 appearances. And unfortunately, Von Miller missed the entire 2020 season after an ankle injury robbed him of playing early in September.
Von Miller and Bradley Chubb have played on the same field a total of 20 games in their career. In those 20 games, they have combined for 29.5 sacks. Bring it on.#BroncosCountry pic.twitter.com/hK5QuIG8fQ
— Broncos Outsider (@BroncosOutside) March 16, 2021
What lies in the future for Von Miller?
The 31 year old has the most sacks (106), QB hits (216), and forced fumbles (26) in Broncos history. He also leads all active players in sacks. It’s no doubt Von has troubled NFL offences for years and is in all likeliness a future Hall of Famer. But after a couple of rough years, It’ll be very interesting to see if Miller can return to the high benchmark that he has set for himself over the years.
