We’ve seen small doses Von Miller upon his return to the Buffalo Bills lineup.
That’s a luxury.
Miller, 33, is undoubtedly one of the best press rushers to ever play in the NFL. He would improve any defense.
But the Bills… don’t need him to do that.
Buffalo (4-2) has recorded a league-high 24 sacks. Sure, they want Miller, but because of how well the defense is already doing, he can be brought along slow. It’s a luxury that the Bills haven’t always had.
Head coach Sean McDermott compared Miller’s return to Tre’Davious White’s last year. White is unfortunately out for this season again (Achilles) but he came back from a similar knee injury to Miller’s in 2022.
White had to be tossed in the deep end due to injury and lack of production in the Bills’ secondary at the time. Miller’s situation is the opposite.
“You never want to push a player,” McDermott said. “It was a little bit of a different situation. The guys have done such a good job to this point.”
Even Miller can agree with the current approach.
“Everybody in there is doing a really good job of rushing the quarterback. It’s a really, really talented room,” Miller said via video conference. “We’ve been highly motivated this season to go in there and get the job done.”
On his own health, Miller said he’s feeling better week-by-week. He’s hopeful to no longer need a knee brace in two weeks time and added his increase in workload from game one to game two of his return has gone well.
“It felt good to be out there like that,” Miller said. “It just builds up my confidence and just continuing to build on that. The week before in London was just a baseline. Last week, I felt like I just continue to take steps and eventually I’ll start racking up the sacks.”
Miller will look to continue adding to his snap count total on Sunday against the New England Patriots (1-5).
For more from McDermott on Miller’s return, see the attached WIVB-TV clip below:
Von Miller continues to increase his snaps playing 27 last week (up 7 from 2 weeks ago). I asked Sean McDermott about Von's progress & if it helps the way rest of the d-line is playing right now to where they don't need to push it when it comes to his workload and ramp up period. pic.twitter.com/h5rdZ9ZtXg
— Heather Prusak (@haprusak) October 19, 2023
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