Denver Broncos All-Pro pass rusher Von Miller made some interesting comments on Tuesday about how he perceives the value of OTAs.
Some players hold these practices in high regard, viewing them as a way get the season kicked off properly. Miller, on the other hand…
Von Miller doesn’t put much stock in OTAs. Doesn’t mean much to him outside of conditioning. Half joking/half serious, he said he’d rather have guys not practice in OTAs or training camp so they can play in the season because that’s when guys really need to be playing.
— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) May 29, 2018
This isn’t quite on par with Allen Iverson’s practice rant, but it’s definitely not a strong endorsement of OTAs, either.
Here’s a bit more context. Miller said, “I mean it’s OTAs. You really can’t put too much into OTAs. Last year in OTAs I thought we were going to win the Super Bowl. You really can’t put too much into it,” per Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic.
There are two things at play here. First, Miller likely sees the risk of players getting injured and thus, derailing what could be a promising season. We’ve seen it happen already with other teams. So it’s not a crazy notion.
Secondly, there’s a lot of hype about what guys are doing in practice shorts with no pads or hitting. Just look at what’s happening in Oakland right now, for example.
So, it’s easy to see where Miller is coming from. That said, head coach Vance Joseph probably wishes his superstar could keep these comments to himself.