Why did Von Miller sign with the Bills? Veteran pass rusher spurned Rams, nixed Broncos return for Buffalo

Jacob Camenker

Why did Von Miller sign with the Bills? Veteran pass rusher spurned Rams, nixed Broncos return for Buffalo image

Von Miller was one of the top free agents on the market during the 2022 NFL offseason. The 33-year-old pass rusher was fresh off a Super Bowl win and recorded a 9.5-sack season while splitting time between the Rams and Broncos.

It was widely anticipated that Miller would be signing with one of those teams as a free agent. He enjoyed a lot of success in Los Angeles working alongside Aaron Donald, but he had originally been devastated by his trade away from his decade-long home in Denver.

Considering that both teams were shaping up to be contenders, Miller looked like a good fit for either.

Instead, he surprised many by signing with another Super Bowl favorite: the Buffalo Bills.

Miller signed with the Bills on a six-year deal worth $120 million. He will now aid Buffalo in its quest to win its first Super Bowl title while guaranteeing that he will be one of the NFL's highest-paid defensive players for at least a few years.

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Here's why Miller elected to sign with the Bills in one of the most important free-agent signings of the 2022 NFL offseason.

Why Von Miller signed with the Bills

Von Miller explained that he had one goal in mind when he signed with the Bills: He wants to win another Super Bowl and he is embracing the challenge of doing that in Buffalo.

"We're here in the indoor practice facility and we got all these AFC championship [banners] up here, and not one Super Bowl," Miller said. "[Winning a Super Bowl] is an expectation from this franchise, it's an expectation from this fan base, and that's why I came here."

Miller further detailed that he was a big believer in the roster that the Bills had put together. He saw firsthand how the Rams got the most out of their talent and gelled as a team as the season went on.

He sees that same type of potential with the Bills, and he welcomes "being a part of something special" once again.

"They're a special team," Miller said of the Bills. "They're right on the edge, and I just wanted to be that last drop to overflow these guys. Bills Mafia has been waiting for it; Buffalo has been waiting for it; and it'd be crazy if we can go out there and get it done."

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Miller also acknowledged that he wouldn't have been totally content staying in Los Angeles. It had nothing to do with the Rams as a team; it was more about a "selfish" goal he has his sights set upon.

I could have just stayed in LA and just rode off into the sunset and just rushed with Aaron Donald and piled up sacks, but I wasn't content. I wasn't content where I was at. I still wanted more. To come here selfishly and be the only guy that ever won three Super Bowls with three different teams, selfishly, that's what I want. This organization wants a Super Bowl. It's a win-win for both sides.

Miller is also looking forward to getting a chance to bond with Bills fans. He enjoyed a special relationship with Denver fans during his 10 years with the Broncos and hopes that he will be able to forge a similar relationship with the Buffalo community.

"We got some of the best fans in the league," Miller said. "We got Super Bowl fans, and we want to go out of our way to play the best that we possibly can to make Bills Mafia proud."

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Why Von Miller almost signed with the Rams

While Miller is excited to be a member of the Bills, he almost decided not to sign with them. He got cold feet on his visit to Buffalo and was considering leaving without signing a contract.

More specifically, he was considering going back to Los Angeles to sign a contract with the Rams, with whom he had just won a Super Bowl. Ultimately, Buffalo won out but Miller called the process a "tough decision" for him.

"I wanted to be a Bill, I wanted to play for the Rams," Miller said on Mike Silver's "Open Mike" podcast. "[I] didn't want to leave the Rams, didn't want to leave Aaron Donald, coach [Sean] McVay. I made the decision [to join the Bills] but it wasn't set in stone. I had made the decision, the news broke and stuff and everybody is looking at me like 'Bro, why you not happy?'"

Miller explained that the flight over to Buffalo was a difficult one. He mulled the decision to join the Bills on the trip and at one point, he was ready to break the verbal agreement he had made with Buffalo's front office.

"I really [didn't] want to leave the Rams," he said. "I got on the plane and I'm gonna go out here and tell [the Bills] like 'I know what I said, I'll pay for the jet that you guys flew me out here with, but I'm going back to the Rams.' And I got there, landed, it was cold. We went to get some food — didn't like the food — it's just hard coming from L.A. to Buffalo."

However, Miller's fears largely dissipated when he was brought to the team's headquarters.

When I got there and drove up to the facility, I started to feel a little bit better. I started to meet all the guys that's working at the facility from the trainers, the support system ... and everybody and I started to feel a little bit better.

Still, Miller wasn't entirely sold on signing the contract. He hesitated and delayed the process by a couple of hours. However, he was ultimately swayed to sign the deal by a key member of Buffalo's leadership group.

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How Sean McDermott convinced Von Miller to sign with the Bills

Miller credited Bills coach Sean McDermott as being the one who convinced him to sign the deal. The veteran pass rusher visited with defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier and defensive line coach Eric Washington, too, but it was McDermott who did his best to quell Miller's concerns.

"It's been a little over an hour that I've been sitting in there, still haven't signed the contract," Miller explained of his visit with the Bills. "And Coach McDermott knocks on the door and he sits down with me and tells me 'Man you know what, I get it. It's Buffalo. When I told my kids that I was taking a head-coaching job here in Buffalo, they cried. But now, they love it and it's a special place. It doesn't look like it, but you will love this place too."

Miller noted that McDermott's honesty was refreshing. He also understood what McDermott meant when he referred to Buffalo as a "special place." That helped put him at ease with his decision to join the Bills.

Just by my limited time there man, it really is a special place and I do love it. I played in cold games before and I started to get this vibe like this is the right decision for me to make.

It also helped that McDermott explained to Miller he wasn't expected to be a franchise savior for the Bills.

"We're not bringing you here to save us, we already got a good team," McDermott said, according to Miller. "We just need you to put us over the top. We want you to do the same thing that you did with the Rams."

Indeed, the Bills generated 187 pressures last season, good for the second-most in the NFL, and a pressure rate of 25.5 percent (ninth-best in the league). They were a good unit without Miller; they can be a great one with him.

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Did Von Miller consider signing with the Cowboys, Broncos?

The final drama in the Miller saga came down to the Bills and Rams, but they weren't the only two squads he considered. Miller flirted with other teams in free agency, and that included the Cowboys and Broncos.

Dallas was apparently high on Miller's wish list if he were to leave the Rams. He played collegiately at Texas A&M, so it's no surprise that he would consider playing for the Cowboys.

However, Miller was reportedly offered a five-year deal worth $70 million to play for the Cowboys. He didn't believe that was enough for his services, especially considering the six-year, $120 million offer the Bills had put on the table.

"I told them I was ready to come to the Cowboys," Miller told Dan Pompei of The Athletic. "I would have taken less to go to Dallas because it's Dallas. But I wouldn't take that much less."

It also seemed that Miller was considering a return to the Broncos just a week and a half before his decision to join the Bills. He made several social media posts about wanting to return to Denver; that included a picture of him in his Broncos duds that asked which number he should wear if he returned to the team.

However, the Broncos ended up signing former Cowboys edge rusher Randy Gregory to a five-year deal worth $70 million one day before Buffalo inked Miller to a deal. It's unclear whether the Broncos pursued Miller and settled for the cheaper option in Gregory, but either way, a reunion between the two sides never materialized.

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Jacob Camenker

Jacob Camenker Photo

Jacob Camenker first joined The Sporting News as a fantasy football intern in 2018 after his graduation from UMass. He became a full-time employee with TSN in 2021 and now serves as a senior content producer with a particular focus on the NFL. Jacob worked at NBC Sports Boston as a content producer from 2019 to 2021. He is an avid fan of the NFL Draft and ranked 10th in FantasyPros’ Mock Draft Accuracy metric in both 2021 and 2022.