Von Miller Will Deliver to Buffalo Bills Much More Than Just Extra Pressure on QB
Looking strictly at the numbers, Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane arguably grossly overpaid for edge rusher Von Miller.
Looking at everything else Miller brings to the table, Beane likely secured one of the all-time bargains of NFL free agency.
Beane wasn't just upgrading Buffalo's pass rush when he signed Miller, 33, to a six-year, $120 million contract with $51.4 million guaranteed. He was buying a total package that includes a player with a track record of lifting everyone around him.
"We've got some young players on the D-line especially at end," Beane said. "I think he's going to really help these guys, not only because he's out there, but just teaching them how to how to rush, tricks, how to read what a tackle's doing — is he in a run stance, pass stance, what cues is he giving? I think all that's going to help and then he's going to help the inside rushers as well.
"And he's won two Super Bowls. I mean, unfortunately, I was a part of one of his wins [as an executive for the Carolina Panthers when they lost to Miller's Denver Broncos]. And so if you can't beat them, join them, as my son told me last time."
Beane and coach Sean McDermott view Miller as an instant fit because of his personality as well as his accomplishments, which include 115.5 sacks in 150 regular-season games and 10.5 more sacks in 11 playoff games.
"When you bring a player of that caliber that has had that amount of success, I think that [he] really just automatically comes with a lot of credibility, a lot of presence ... in the locker room on our team," McDermott said, "and I know he's anxious to get back and meet all of his teammates, and I'm sure they're anxious to meet him as well for those that don't already know him.
"And then to just watch his habits, right, you learn by watching people who have been there and done it at such a high level on an individual level but also on a team level too. And he's got two Super Bowl championships to his credit, and I think some of that will help us as well."
Miller made a similar impression on his most recent team, the defending Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams, who acquired him in a midseason trade with the Broncos last November.
"I think that the street cred that [Miller] had with the players in our locker room having won Super Bowl MVP, having been through that journey, he really pushed guys to elevate their game," Rams coach Sean McVay said at the NFL Meetings, as reported by The Buffalo News. "I know how much respect Aaron had for him, and he really challenged Aaron in some ways that raised his game and raised our team.
" ... [Miller is] that type of guy, those igniters that raise everybody around them. He's a great teammate, too. He's a special player, obviously, but he's just a special type of person, and he'll do a great job. ... He was one of those guys that he treats everybody so well. The equipment staff, the PR [staff] – everybody's gonna love Von Miller."
Some players are only into collecting stats and the paychecks those stats bring. All Miller is concerned about is collecting rings. By signing with the Bills, he has given himself a good chance to become the just the second player to win a Super Bowl championship with three teams, joining Matt Millen.
"Winning games is what I love to do," Miller said. "Being around a great group of guys, being around this team and this locker room, I knew of this locker room before I even got here. And that's really the only way they can draw me away from that good weather in L.A. to come over here and become part of something special. It's an honor and a privilege, and I can't help but be happy and smile."
The Bills also have more than a strong sense that this arranged marriage will work.
"I think he'll be happy here," Bean said, "and I think we're just going to get so much from him. He's a true pro."
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Nick Fierro is the publisher of Bills Central. Check out the latest Bills news at www.si.com/nfl/bills and follow Fierro on Twitter at @NickFierro. Email to Nicky300@aol.com.
