Von Miller was about to play his 10th season in the NFL before suffering a season-ending ankle injury at practice Tuesday.
Miller, the Broncos’ all-time leader in sacks, might now be in danger of seeing his time in Denver come to a close. The 31-year-old linebacker posted eight sacks in 2019 — his lowest total since he missed seven games in 2013 — and he will have a huge salary cap hit in 2021.
Next year, the Broncos probably won’t want a 32-year-old defender coming off a major injury taking up $22.225 million in salary cap space. Miller’s contract includes a club option that would allow Denver to cut him next year with a dead cap hit of $4.225 million and a net savings of $18 million.
With the NFL’s salary cap expected to drop in 2021, the Broncos will want to save money anywhere they can, especially if they aim to give safety Justin Simmons a long-term contract extension. Declining Miller’s option would help the team re-sign younger players.
While it would make sense from a financial perspective to move on from Miller, it would be hard to part ways with the Super Bowl MVP. Miller is one of the greatest defenders in franchise history and fans won’t want to see him play anywhere outside of Denver.
The Broncos might be able to give Miller a contract extension next year, lowering his salary and restructuring his salary cap hit. Denver would have a lot of leverage to adjust Miller’s contract after he misses the entire 2020 season. Broncos fans can only hope the two sides work something out.
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