Most Buffalo Bills fans assumed Von Miller was not fully healthy during the 2023 NFL season. But on Thursday he revealed just how bad his surgically repaired knee really was.
Denver Broncos great Von Miller is on the fast track to the Pro Football Hall-of-Fame. The eight-time Pro Bowler is one of the best pass rushers of this century and has a pair of Super Bowl titles to back it up. That’s why there was so much excitement when the Bills signed him before the 2022 season.
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Unfortunately, his debut season with the franchise was cut short after just 11 games due to a torn ACL. Such an injury often requires a year to recover from and return to previous athletic heights. However, it seems that the 35-year-old needed much more than that to be an impact player again in the league.
“[Sitting out] is probably what should have happened, but I didn’t want that to happen,” Miller said after practice on Thursday (h/t ESPN). “I wanted to be out there and play. If I was 50 percent, like, nobody was going to stop me from going out there. [Bills General Manager Brandon] Beane wasn’t; nobody was going to stop me from going out there.
- Von Miller stats (Career): 173 games, 564 tackles, 123.5 sacks, 22 forced fumbles, 2 interceptions
“But the truth, just being honest with you guys, my knee wasn’t at a place where I could go, and I could move, and I could do the things that I wanted to do. I mean, I could play, but that was just about it.“
His honesty is commendable. Nevertheless, being an unofficial decoy and not being a real threat on defense ended up being costly as the team progressed, and opponents realized he was not close to 100%.
Von Miller played in 12 games last season (no starts) and managed a career-worst three tackles and no sacks. He averaged at least eight or more in the previous eight seasons.
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