When Buffalo Bills pass rusher and future Hall of Famer Von Miller went down to injury in the first half of their Thanksgiving matchup against the Detroit Lions, we feared it was a season-ender.
Miller had to be carted off to the locker room and didn’t return to action. The obvious fear of a torn ACL popped into the heads of those watching the game in Detroit.
With that said, reports following Buffalo’s narrow win over the Lions indicated that Miller did not suffer an ACL injury. We just didn’t know the extent of the injury until now.
Miller broke some news during his podcast on Tuesday, indicating that he suffered a meniscus injury to the knee and hopes to return Week 14 against the division-rival New York Jets.
“The news is not the best of news, but it’s definitely not the worst of news. It’s kind of in the middle,” Von Miller on injury concern.
Miller did add that the injury will have to be addressed at some point. The hope here is that it can wait until the Bills’ season comes to a conclusion.
Related: Sportsnaut’s NFL defense rankings heading into Week 13
Von Miller injury and timeline for a return
Miller was not going to play Thursday against the New England Patriots. Given the severity of the injury and where it happened, that was never going to be in the cards.
Though, a Week 14 return would bring Miller back to the mix more than two weeks after he suffered the injury. This is no small thing when talking about a timeline for a return to action. A lot of this will be reliant on how Miller’s knee responds to the rehab process over the next several days. But the Bills certainly need him in the mix if they are to overcome the Miami Dolphins and win the AFC East this season.
- Von Miller stats (2022): 21 tackles, 10 for loss, 12 QB hits, 8 sacks
Even in part-time action after signing a long-term deal in free agency this past spring, Miller has proven to still have it as an elite-level pass rusher.
Buffalo heads into Week 13 having racked up 30 sacks on opposing quarterbacks through 11 games. That ranks in the middle of the pack. If the team is going to overcome a recent ho-hum run, Miller will have to be a central part of that.