What is Anthony Miller trying to say, exactly? The Chicago Bears wide receiver has been the subject of trade rumors for weeks, and now, his social media activity is raising more than a few eyebrows.
On Monday, Miller Tweeted out an hourglass emoji, which suggests an upcoming or pending event (such as a trade), and he has also been sharing a few hype videos showcasing his offseason work. What does it all mean? Most likely, it means the 26-year-old wide receiver is headed out of Chicago after a rocky three seasons with the team.
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Wild Card Fight Was Impetus For Miller’s Exit
With injured rookie Darnell Mooney on the bench, leaving the team short-handed at receiver, Miller picked the Bears’ Wild Card game against the New Orleans Saints to stand out — in a bad way. He was ejected for punching Saints defensive back Chauncey Gardner-Johnson — a player who is well-known for antagonizing opponents. Miller became the second Chicago player to be ejected for hitting the Saints defensive back last year after fellow wideout Javon Wims was suspended during the regular season for doing the same thing — to the same player.
According to Bears head coach Matt Nagy, the team took time out of practice to discuss Gardner-Johnson in particular, and Miller was warned not to engage with him heading into the game. “We spent time literally showing and explaining a particular player’s actions in games and teaching it. That’s taking 10 or 15 minutes out of your day, which is precious,” Nagy said after the incident, via NFL.com.
“What do we talk about? Every action has a reaction,” Nagy added. “When we’re low with numbers at the wide receiver position — and the value of that Zebra position for us — so again it’s something where our guys, we’ve all got to understand we’ve got to be stronger and we can’t have that happen, and we’ve got to understand that … we just can’t have it.”
Now, after the season, two of the league’s top insiders in Adam Schefter and Ian Rapoport have both stated the Bears are shopping Miller, so his days in Chicago certainly seem numbered.
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Where Could Miller Be Headed?
The Baltimore Ravens and Washington Football Team have been mentioned as possible trade partners, but considering Miller’s up and down history with the Bears, it also wouldn’t be surprising to see him released.
Chicago traded up in 2018 to draft Miller in the second round, and after a promising rookie season where he caught 33 passes for 423 yards and led the team in touchdown catches with seven, it seemed as though the Bears had found their perfect number two.
But issues with drops, route running and a questionable injured shoulder have plagued his first three seasons, and despite obvious talent, Miller has never taken it to the next level in Chicago. A change of scenery and offensive scheme could be just what he needs, and based on the videos of the workouts he has been sharing on Instagram, he has been putting in some quality work this offseason — and letting other teams know it.
It doesn’t look as though that hard work is going to benefit the Bears much next season, though.
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Bears WR Sets Off Alarms With Cryptic Social Media Activity