Broncos Could Save a Lot of Money By Cutting Von Miller

Von Miller missed all of the 2020 season after suffering a season-ending injury before the year began. He missed a lot. The rest of the Denver Broncos got hit hard with the injury bug as the team went 6-10, Drew Lock's position as QB of the future was not secured by any means (despite Peyton Manning's endorsement), and John Elway stepped aside as the organization's general manager.

Denver hired George Paton as the new man to lead the front office, and he has some decisions to make. Miller is near the top of NFL offseason lists of players who could get cut, and Paton will have to make that call before the new league year starts on March 17.

Miller's inclusion on such lists is not linked to his production. Tthe Super Bowl MVP's last healthy season was below par for his career (eight sacks and 20 quarterback hits) but there's still something left in the tank and, at the very least, he's a useful veteran for budding star Bradley Chubb to continue to learn from. I'm sure Miller would preach the value of having DeMarcus Ware around right when Miller's career took off, and it's a similar situation here.

But the facts remain the facts. Paton has no connection to Miller and is therefore more likely to cut ties than Elway, who watched the edge rusher almost single-handedly win his team a ring. The last fully healthy season Miller had, he didn't hit double-digit sacks. When you pair that with the fact that he will count for $22.5 million against the cap if he's on the roster next year, it doesn't bode well for his future in Denver. Miller is also currently the subject of a criminal investigation by the Parker (Co.) police department, although the public is not aware of any specifics there outside of the fact that Miller has not been charged with a crime as of yet.

Putting aside any potential legal issues, Miller's production didn't match up with his pay the last time he was on the field -- and then he suffered an injury to a tendon in his ankle that was serious enough to knock him out of 2020. He's still Von Miller and everybody instinctively assumes that he can bounce back to his terrifying usual form, but that kind of injury to a 31-year-old defensive end who was already falling off a bit is very bad indeed.

No official decision has been made yet. Broncos reporter Mike Klis reports Paton has yet to reach out to Miller's camp about his contract, which means nothing in mid-February. A restructure is certainly in the cards, but the Broncos will only suffer a $4 million dead cap hit if they cut or traded Miller outright.

Nothing is official yet and there are no reliable reports suggesting Denver is leaning one way or the other. It's almost unfathomable to imagine Miller in a different uniform, so the two sides will probably figure something out. Then again, we said the same thing about J.J. Watt.