COMMERCE CITY, Colo. (AP) — Von Miller has conflicted feelings about the Denver Broncos honoring their Super Bowl 50 team during alumni weekend in October.
That Week 7 game with the New York Giants is when the late Demaryius Thomas will be inducted into the team's ring of fame during halftime ceremonies.
“I would love to be there,” Miller said Wednesday during an event for his charity, Von’s Vision, “but I hope to not be there.”
That's because the NFL's active sacks leader and 36-year-old free agent aims to be playing a 15th season in the NFL.
“I hope to not be there — unless I’m playing for the Giants or the Broncos," said Miller, who was released by the Buffalo Bills in March to free up salary cap space.
Although Miller has often talked about a reunion with Denver, where he starred from 2011-21, accumulating a team record 110 1/2 sacks, he doesn't think re-signing with the Broncos is realistic — at least not in 2025.
Asked if the Broncos had reached out to him or his agent, Miller said, "I haven’t heard anything. But I mean, if you look at it this year, it really doesn’t — it really doesn’t make sense. They got two really, really good rushers that are best in the league (in) Jonathon Cooper and Nik Bonitto, they are incredible rushers.
“And the guys underneath them, they come in, they produce sacks too, and they play special teams. I’m not playing special teams,” Miller added. “So they kind of — that decision kind of makes itself. I think at 36 years old, I can say that I probably won’t be doing that, But, yeah, just this year, probably not. But, you know, the year after that, next year, we’ll see what happens.”
Miller was traded to the Los Angeles Rams in 2021 and he added another Super Bowl ring that season to the one he won in Denver following the 2015 season. He spent the last three years in Buffalo but injuries prevented him from having the kind of impact he'd had previously.
The Bills released him in March because he was set to have a $23.8 million cap hit this season.
“Offseason’s been a little bit longer than I expected it to be, but that’s just how it’s supposed to be,” Miller said. “Whenever you have all this time, you reminisce and you think back about all these OTAs and these summer training sessions where you’re like, ‘Man, why I gotta be here? Why I gotta be here? OTAs, why I gotta do this?’ And now you’re sitting at home like, ‘Man, I wish I was at OTAs right now.’”
Miller said he's certain he'll play for somebody this season and if he has a productive year, he aims to play in 2026, too. Deep down, he hopes that's in Denver. He had high praise for the organization and said he'll always be a fan.
Miller, who has 129 1/2 career sacks, said he still has plenty to offer both in production and leadership.
“I’m a locker-room guy through and through, and I can still roll out of the bed and rush the passer," Miller said. “That’s what I got.”
Miller said it's hard to believe it's been a decade since he led Denver to its third Super Bowl title. Asked for his favorite memory of Thomas, that was it.
“When I think about D.T. going in the ring of honor, I think about him after the Super Bowl, everybody was happy,” Miller said. “That feeling. It lasted all summer. Summer of ’16 was incredible. And seeing D.T. happy and smiling is the picture that I have forever.”
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Arnie Stapleton, The Associated Press
