That sleepy start to free agency for the Buffalo Bills?
Forget about it.
Mark Gaughan: Von Miller is a guy who can help Josh Allen get over the hump
Things changed – in a big way – just before 7 p.m. Wednesday, less than three hours into the NFL's new league year, when the team reached a contract agreement with edge rusher Von Miller, who is coming off a Super Bowl championship with the Los Angeles Rams.
The contract is for six years and up to $120 million, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, who was first to report the deal. According to multiple reports, Miller's contract will pay him $52.5 million over the first three years, and includes $45 million fully guaranteed at signing.
Of course, the nitty-gritty of those details can wait for another day.
Von Miller's history with No. 40 now extends to Bills
What matters most here is a sentence that seems unimaginable to type even five years ago: A future Hall of Famer left the glitz and glamour of Los Angeles – where he just won a Super Bowl – to join the Buffalo Bills. Sure, money matters here, but that speaks absolute volumes about where general manager Brandon Beane, head coach Sean McDermott and quarterback Josh Allen have taken this franchise.
Miller confirmed the move on social media. On Twitter, he posted a photo of the cover from Buffalo-born rapper Benny the Butcher's most recent album, "Tana Talk 4."
"It's been crazy man, crazy four hours," Miller said in an Instagram video. "Going back and forth man, a lot of things that I love in L.A. But I just wanted to let you know I'm coming to Buffalo. Bills Mafia, what's good? Is 40 (his jersey number) open?"
The Rams paid a big price to acquire Miller, giving up second- and third-round draft choices last season. The hope was that he would be more than just a rental. Multiple reports Wednesday indicated the Rams made a big push to keep Miller, including from head coach Sean McVay, but he ultimately decided to sign with the Bills.
Miller, who turns 33 on March 26, was the second overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos and has started every one of the 150 regular-season games in which he's appeared. His 115.5 career sacks are the most of any active player in the league. He was traded by the Broncos to the Rams ahead of the NFL trade deadline during the 2021 regular season. In eight regular-season games with Los Angeles, he had five sacks. He added four more in the Rams' four-game run to a Super Bowl title that they won on their home field.
Defensive tackle Jordan Phillips nearing a return to Bills
McDermott and defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier made it clear last season that they were seeking more consistency from their four-man pass rush. That's a word that has defined Miller's career. He has played at least 15 games in nine of his 11 seasons (he missed all of the 2020 season because of an ankle injury), and has had at least 10 sacks in seven of those years. He's an eight-time Pro Bowler and three-time first-team All-Pro selection.
"I think in certain games we did. I think there were some games that we would have liked to have had more, if I’m being honest," Beane said at his end-of-season news conference when asked if the Bills got enough out of their defensive line. "Consistently all year, probably not as much, but I think they did some really good things. They were kind of a blend with some aging vets and young guys, but I like where we’re at and I like where we’re headed. I’m always going to put resources in the front. That’s just how I believe it should be built. Don’t ever be shocked if you see us trying to add there, free agency or the draft, at any point."
Even with that last piece of advice, Miller's signing still came as a shock. Up to that point, the Bills had been relatively quiet in free agency, adding a pair of defensive tackles and, strangely enough, having running back J.D. McKissic back out of an agreed-upon contract to return to, of all places, Washington.
When fellow edge rusher Chandler Jones agreed to a deal with the Raiders earlier Wednesday, Bills fans were officially on edge. Safe to say, the news of Miller's signing brought them right back inside.
Beane had spent the previous week or so making moves to get the Bills under the salary cap by the start of the league year, but few thought he had enough space to swing such a deal. If there's one thing we've learned about the Bills' general manager, however, it's that he's unafraid to make a bold move if he thinks it's the right one for his team. Miller's addition is easily the biggest splash Beane has made in free agency since taking over as the team's general manager in May 2017, and will go down as arguably the biggest free-agent acquisition in team history. Perhaps the only other acquisition that compares came almost exactly 10 years ago, when the Bills signed another edge rusher, Mario Williams. He was a very good player when the Bills acquired him, but his resume didn't come close to comparing to that of Miller.
"I've been raised and just always been my (thought) as I've studied teams that you've got to be good up front both sides of the ball," Beane said earlier this month at the NFL scouting combine. "You've got to have a quarterback. The next thing you got to do is you've got to get the other team's quarterback down. So it's a position every year, whether it's free agency, the draft, trades, I think you've got to look and be as strong as you can. I mean, we we were pretty deep this year, but we ran into issues with Covid and some nicks here and there. So, we do have some guys that are unrestricted. We'll see if we can get some back. But either way, we'll definitely look to add there."
It remains to be seen what Miller's addition means for veteran Bills edge rushers Jerry Hughes and Mario Addison, both of whom officially hit the open market Wednesday. They have indicated to Beane they hope to continue playing, although the likelihood of that happening in Buffalo seems to have decreased now that the Bills have made such a massive investment in Miller.
Now, the goal for Miller will be to make history. No player has ever played for the winning team in a Super Bowl for three different franchises. The Bills hope this addition will give Miller a chance to add to his two rings – the first of which came with Denver following the 2015 season – while giving Buffalo its long-sought-after first Super Bowl title.
