When the Buffalo Bills gave Von Miller a 6-year $120 million contract, they paid the future first ballot Hall of Famer to continue to be one of the best pass rushers in the league. That certainly hasn’t been the case, in large part due to injuries.
Add in the four-game suspension that Miller served this year, and many members of Bills Mafia look at Miller as a huge contract that isn’t living up to the money spent. No, Miller isn’t the best pass rusher in the NFL, but what he brings to the table is still an incredibly valuable asset to this defense, and it’s time that Bills Mafia embraces Miller’s role.
In six games this season (removing the game against the Ravens, where Miller played only nine snaps in large part to the team’s attempt to slow down the run game), Miller has averaged 19.1 pass rush snaps per game, getting no fewer than 15 and no more than 23. Now, late in his career, Miller is a rotational pass rusher. That hasn’t stopped him from making an impact.
Miller averages a pressure 13.9% of his pass rush reps. That’s just behind Greg Rousseau’s 14.8% for the highest pressure rate on the team. Miller, in only seven games, has four sacks and two quarterback hits, including showing up in an obvious passing down to finish off a sack of Patrick Mahomes in Sunday’s game against the Chiefs.
If Bills fans can stop looking at Miller for just his contract and instead identify the fact that he’s still an incredibly talented, season veteran presence to help the development of the young pass rushers on the roster take the next step, while also coming onto the field in the biggest moments to still give opposing offensive lines and quarterbacks headaches, they’ll come around to love him.
Miller’s presence is crucial. He’s still a highly-productive, savvy vet to line up opposite Rousseau. As evidenced by his sack on Mahomes on third and long while protecting a one-score lead, Miller has proved that he’s still the guy you want on the field when you need it most.
