Getty Von Miller holds the Vince Lombardi Trophy after his Rams won Super Bowl 56 on Sunday, February 13.
The Los Angeles Rams traded for Von Miller for two reasons: To take pressure off of Aaron Donald in the pass rush and to lead them to a Super Bowl victory.
Mission accomplished. Both goals.
The Super Bowl 50 Most Valuable Player with the Denver Broncos flipped a switch starting on December 21, 2021 with the franchise that lured him in before the trade deadline: Snatching nine total sacks including two games of two sacks during the Rams’ march to the Super Bowl title.
And one of those two-sack outings? The Sunday, February 13 contest won by the Rams 23-20 at SoFi Stadium.
Von Miller beats slide protection with the hesi/chop/spin. Have a pass rush plan! #SuperBowl #RamsHouse #PassRush
Von Miller & Greg Gaines run a T/E stunt. @VonMiller lets @GregGaines99 set it up, then as the guard focuses on Gaines, Miller loops inside & runs down Burrow for the sack! #RamsHouse #SuperBowl #PassRush
Miller became a part of history: The Rams’ seven sacks tied a Super Bowl record. And he tied individual history:
🐏 Von Miller now has 4.5 sacks in Super Bowl games
He has equalled Charles Haley for the NFL record.
Ferocious. 👹
He’s since made his rounds with his second Vince Lombardi Trophy:
Starting to make its rounds. 🏆
However, with Miller set to become an unrestricted free agent come March, is he taking his final victory lap with the Rams? Two NFL analysts believe that Miller has a fall 2022 home with one aspiring contender.
The Contending Team Who Could Bring in Miller
The ESPN duo of Jeremy Fowler and Matt Bowen put together their Tuesday, February 15 feature called “Best NFL Team Fits for Top 50 Free Agents 2022,” predicting the landing spots for key free agents.
The now two-time Super Bowl winner Miller is listed as the No. 8 free agent available this offseason. Fowler and Bowen pinpointed who has the “best fit” potential for Miller in the 2022 season: The team that just won on Sunday.
Yes, the Rams are labeled as the one with the best shot at bringing Miller in for 2022 and prevent him from drifting off. Here’s what Fowler said on why it makes sense to keep Miller:
“The Rams traded for Miller with the intent of re-signing him,” Fowler said.
However, there’s this new dilemma that Fowler brought up that involves one NFC East team who could be fixated on attempting to add Miller.
“Maybe the Super Bowl win allows both sides to comfortably part ways, though, and we considered the (New York) Giants here as defensive coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale tries to ignite a defense that needs a boost,” Fowler said.
Martindale does have this as leverage for the Giants: He shares a Broncos connection with Miller, as “Wink” coached linebackers in 2009 then took the defensive coordinator reins in 2010 — before the franchise drafted Miller.
Bowen believes that Miller, at age 33 by the start of next season, will see lesser playing time. Yet, can still be an impact for Raheem Morris‘ defense.
“Miller’s snap count could begin to decline a bit at this stage of his career, but we still see high-level pass rush traits on his tape. He can win one-on-ones and disrupt the pocket off the schemed stunts in Raheem Morris’ defense,” Bowen wrote.
Here’s an example of Miller winning a solo blocking battle from the big game:
Von Miller (@vonmiller) with the Super Bowl ghost rush. Feint with the inside hand, then dip under the blocker’s punch!
Video Credit: @chucksmithnfl #passrush #superbowl
Could Miller be Fully in on Returning?
Per NFL network insiders Mike Garofolo and Ian Rapoport, Miller became enamored with L.A. But that doesn’t guarantee he’ll return.
Per Spotrac, Miller once had a base salary of $17.5 million with the Broncos. But that figure fell to $722,223 when he joined the Rams.
There’s already one former teammate of Miller who wants him to return to the Rocky Mountains:
Alright @VonMiller you can come back to the broncos now! Congrats my brotha 🤞🏾