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Former Chicago Bears wide receiver Anthony Miller has landed with a new team after a whirlwind month.
With wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster set to undergo season-ending surgery, the Pittsburgh Steelers signed Miller to their practice squad, and he’ll likely be elevated to the active roster at some point this season. The Steelers announced the move on October 12.
The Bears sent Miller and a 2022 seventh-round draft pick to the Houston Texans in exchange for a 2022 fifth-round rounder in late July, but he didn’t make it through Week 4 in Houston. The Texans waived Miller after he caught just five passes on 11 targets for 23 yards and a score.
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Miller’s Exit From Chicago Was No Surprise
The Bears traded up in the 2018 draft to snag Miller in the second round, and after a promising rookie campaign that saw his seven touchdown receptions lead the team, things went slowly downhill after that.
Miller had 33 catches, 423 yards and seven TDS as a rookie, and 52 catches, 656 yards and two touchdowns the following season, but a frequently dislocated left shoulder led to surgery at the end of each of his first two years with the team.
Miller had 49 catches for 485 yards and two scores with Chicago in 2020, and his inability to take his game to the next level (being where he was supposed to be during specific plays was a particular issue) played a huge part in his release this summer.
An unfortunate incident in the playoffs last year likely helped seal his fate in the Windy City.
In the Bears’ Wild Card loss to the New Orleans Saints, Miller was ejected for punching Saints DB Chauncey Gardner-Johnson:
That, coupled with his injury history and lack of on-field production, made Miller’s exit from Chicago something you could see coming for months.
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His Exit From Houston Was a Bit Abrupt, However
“That’s exactly what it is, a fresh start,” Miller said at the Texans’ training camp in August about being traded, per Yahoo Sports. “It’s a new opportunity for me to show what I can do, and the coaches here believe in what I can do 100 percent. That’s all I want is an opportunity, and that’s what they’re giving me.”
The Texans waived him a few months later on October 6, choosing 35-year-old veteran wideout Danny Amendola over Miller, who just turned 27 on October 9.
“We are always looking to do what’s best for our football team,” Texans head coach David Culley said about Miller’s release, via Coty Davis of Texans Wire. “With Danny coming back, and the way our offense is structured, there’s room for only one of those guys. We felt like that was the best decision moving forward.”
Miller also suffered a slight dislocation of his right shoulder this preseason with the Texans, and while it wasn’t his surgically-repaired shoulder, it still had to be a concern for Houston — and it will be something to watch moving forward.
Now, Miller will be getting a fresh start yet again, with his third different team in the last four months.
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