Von Miller returned to the Buffalo Bills earlier than expected from a torn ACL, joining the team in October after having suffered the injury on Thanksgiving Day in 2022.
One insider believes it’s time to send the struggling Miller back to the bench to spend more time healing.
Sal Maiorana of the Democrat & Chronicle wrote that the Bills must consider benching the edge rusher, who has not returned back to his All-Pro form and could use more time. The Bills brought back Miller earlier than players with similar injuries — Tre’Davious White was out a full year after suffering an identical injury on the previous Thanksgiving. Maiorana wrote that Miller may still need more time to heal.
“I’ve made this point several times already, but I’ll make it again: No matter what Miller says in his never-ending quest to be positive and upbeat, he was not ready to return to action,” Maiorana wrote. “He wasn’t ready in Week 5 when he debuted against the Jaguars, and he’s not ready six games later, only now we have six games of clear-cut data to prove the point.”
Von Miller Not Making an Impact
Maiorana pointed out that Miller has played 125 snaps this season with little to show for it — six quarterback pressures, just two tackles and no sacks.
“He is being defeated one-on-one by every blocker he goes against, and Monday night, [Bills head coach Sean] McDermott finally came to the realization that having Miller on the field for the Broncos’ final possession would have been like playing with 10 players, so he benched him,” Mairoana wrote.
Von Miller was asked by @MattParrino if there was a problem in the #Bills locker room: “Nope.. We’ve got a team full of great guys here … We are great at communicating.”
Miller’s snaps could instead go to one of the team’s more effective pass rushers, including second-year defensive end Kingsley Jonathan, who has seen only 14 snaps over the previous five games.
“It feels to me that McDermott and the coaching staff is reluctant to bench Miller because of the career he has and the respect they have for him, rather than facing the cold hard truth that Miller is a shell of the player he has been,” Maiorana wrote.
Von Miller Remains Confident in Himself
Miller is aware of the criticism, addressing it in an interview with reporters last week. After missing a key tackle late in the fourth quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals, a misstep that allowed the Bengals to convert a first down and run out the clock, Miller said he knows it will take a bit longer before he is back to 100% but is confident he will get there.
“I would love to take these huge leaps and bounds each and every week, but reality is I’m just getting a little bit better each and every week. I’m grateful for that and I can accept that,” Miller said, via ESPN. “This is Year 13 for me, and I just know how it goes. Like, I know I still can play. I know I can still recapture some of the things that I did in the past and the type of player that I was, I know I can still be that and I feel like that’s what’s driving me.”
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Bills Advised to Face ‘Cold Hard Truth’ With Struggling Von Miller