Miles
Well-known member
- Mar 18, 2019
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ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Von Miller is staying in Denver.
After much public speculation as to Miller's future with the Broncos, the team has informed Miller that it will pick up the option on his contract to keep him in orange and blue through the 2021 season.
Since the Broncos drafted Miller with the second-overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, the star pass-rusher has developed into exactly the kind of game-changing terror that every NFL team hopes to cement as the foundation of their defense.
He began his career by setting a franchise rookie record with 11.5 sacks, which earned him NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year honors. His sophomore effort was even better, as he set the Broncos' single-season sack record with 18.5 quarterback takedowns.
After a 2013 season in which he played just nine games before suffering an ACL tear, Miller bounced back and returned to Pro Bowl form in 2014 with 14 sacks as he combined with DeMarcus Ware to shape a dominant edge-rushing tandem.
In 2015, the promise that pairing held came to fruition as Denver's defense led the team to a Super Bowl 50 title. During the postseason, Miller emerged as a nationally known figure behind a 2.5-sack game to take down Tom Brady in the AFC Championship and then a Super Bowl MVP performance against regular-season MVP Cam Newton and the Panthers.
In the three years that followed, Miller kept up his pace and continued to earn Pro Bowl and All-Pro accolades annually. In 2018, Miller became the team's all-time sack leader with his seventh double-digit sack season in the first eight years of his career.
Miller's 2019 season was a bit of a step back as he recorded just eight sacks, but with renewed vigor and focus during the offseason, the 10-year veteran dedicated himself to once again proving himself as the league's best pass-rusher in 2020.
Just before Week 1, Miller suffered what would be a season-ending ankle injury. Though he would begin his on-field rehab late in the year with hopes of potentially returning, he never got the chance.
Miller's expected return for the 2021 season may now finally deliver on one of the long-held goals under Fangio's tenure — to see Miller and Chubb working in concert for a full season together leading the defensive-minded coach's unit.
Because of the ankle injury to Miller and Chubb's ACL tear in 2019, the two have played together in Fangio's defense in just four games.
Now, perhaps, that potential will become reality.
"Von proved that nobody in this league can block him one-on-one, he can have his way and do whatever he wants in this league and get sacks on whoever he wants," Chubb said in January. "He's the prototypical outside linebacker, so I feel like with a guy like that, we can show what we can do. Unfortunately, these past two years, these injuries have taken away from us as an organization. With us on the field, it's going to be huge."
On Tuesday morning, Miller reaffirmed his devotion to staying in Denver in an Instagram post.
"I have totally bought into being a Coloradoan for life, let alone a Denver Bronco," Miller wrote. "I want to be here forever through the thick, the thin, the Super Bowl seasons, the losing seasons. I want to be here forever."