Broncos Warned Against Move for $191 Million Super Bowl Champion

The Denver Broncos embraced a youth movement last offseason, and it paid off with their first playoff appearance since 2015. This offseason, the Broncos have taken more of a win-now approach, but that should exclude former cornerstone Von Miller.

Miller is a free agent after the Buffalo Bills released him.

However, the Broncos would be wise to avoid making a nostalgia-based move for Miller and there is a good reason to believe they will: head coach Sean Payton.

“Sean Payton, bless him, possesses all the gooey nostalgia of a starving polar bear. To you, Von Miller is a legend who lives in hearts and closets forever. To Payton, he’s a 36-year-old who’s been stealing money from the Bills for months” The Denver Post’s Sean Keeler wrote in an article on March 11.

“There is a time and a place for a Vonster reunion in Denver. But that place is not a Dove Valley where Payton is the sheriff, which means that time is sure as heck not now. This town ain’t big enough for the two of them.”

“Miller, one of the NFL’s biggest free agent cuts, was the face of this franchise for almost a decade,” Keeler wrote. “Payton is the sunny face of the Broncos now. You think he’s going to cede that status to an outside linebacker who’s racked up just 14 sacks over his last 41 appearances?

“If Miller wants to grab a league-minimum deal, welcome home. If he wants to be for these Broncos what Erik Johnson says he’ll be for the revamped Avalanche, a “vibe” guy at the end of the roster, maybe there’s room to make it work. Although Von, who was in line for a base salary of $17.1 million this fall, is probably still too good for that. And Dove Valley, surely, isn’t sentimental enough to fork over a guaranteed $10 million-$12 million per year to a No. 4 or No. 5 edge rusher.”

Payton cut long-time Broncos safety Justin Simmons last offseason, as well as quarterback Russell Wilson.

Wilson was two years into his Broncos tenure and was starting a five-year, $245 million contract.

Von Miller Far Removed From Prime

Miller, 35, was a Pro Bowler and the Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2011. He was a first-team All-Pro and finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting by Year 2. After an injury-shortened 2013 season, he went on to earn six straight Pro Bowl trips for eight total.

Miller recorded 6.0 sacks for the Bills in 2024.

That is the third-lowest mark of his career, but also a bounceback after the former No. 2 overall pick of the 2011 draft.

He failed to record a sack in 2023 amid a suspension for violating the league’s personal conduct policy. He also has not tallied double-digit sacks since 2018, two years before the Broncos traded him to the Los Angeles Rams.

Miller’s high since then is 9.5 sacks, which he set in 2021, the season he was dealt.

Miller has also dealt with durability issues in recent years.

He has not played a full regular-season slate of games since 2018. Miller has missed multiple games in each season since, though part of that was his trade to LA.

“The Broncos struggled to move on from Super Bowl 50 for so long, in part, because they preferred to lead with their hearts,” Keeler wrote. “For Payton, we already know that won’t ever be a problem.”

Broncos Made Good Use of Von Miller Trade Return

The Broncos received second and third-round picks in 2022 from the Rams for Miller. They used the second-rounder to select his eventual replacement on the EDGE, Nik Bonitto. Ironically, Bonitto is another reason the Broncos do not need to add Miller.

Bonitto led the team with a career-high 13.5 sacks in 2024; third-most in the league.

He is also due for a contract extension just months after bookend Jonathon Cooper received a four-year, $54 million pact.

Miller could come at a bargain for an opportunity to compete for another championship. He won with the Broncos in 2015, earning Super Bowl MVP. He also has $191.4 million in career earnings. But the Broncos do not need to be the team that gives it to him