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Von Miller's 2020 Cap Charge is Seventh-Highest in NFL; Are Broncos Still Getting Value?
Von Miller is scheduled to make $17.5 million in base salary in 2020. Factoring in the total cap charges and he'll consume $25.6M of the Denver Broncos' salary cap this coming season.
According to Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap, that figure represents the seventh-highest cap charge in the NFL for 2020.
Coming off their fourth-straight season of missing the playoffs, the Broncos have to ask themselves whether continuing to pay Miller that type of money is the smart play. Don't mistake what I'm saying as me advocating for the Broncos to part ways with Miller.
That's not at all what I'm saying.
But look at that list of names in the top-10. Only two other defensive players are in the top-10. Aaron Donald is still in his prime and producing at a high level, as is Khalil Mack, albeit to a lesser degree.
Getting Long in the Tooth
Meanwhile, Miller is about to turn 31 in March and is coming off a season in which he started 15 of 16 games but only totaled eight sacks, a career-low mark for him, not counting his suspension- and injury-riddled 2013 campaign. There could be multiple mitigating explanations for why Miller's production suddenly careened off a cliff in 2019.
A new scheme. New coaches. No top-shelf pass rusher opposite him for most of the season after Bradley Chubb was placed on injured reserve ahead of Week 5. Nary a fourth-quarter lead to protect in which an ace pass rusher like Miller could pin his ears back and get after the quarterback (although the Broncos did blow multiple fourth-quarter leads last season). It's also worth noting that Miller had a knee issue that cost him one game last season, too.
However, Miller is paid top dollar to make game-changing plays. When is the last time you can honestly recall him making that type of impact? You'd probably have to go back to 2018. That's a real issue considering his cost.
An Outlier?
There's a chance that 2019 was simply a fluke of a year and that Miller's production (or lack thereof) was simply the perfect storm or comedy of factors resulting in an outlier type of season. That could be true.
Or, it could be that Miller is now on the wrong side of 30 and worn down from three-straight losing seasons. I'm not sure what the explanation is and I doubt anyone can be sure.
What I do know is that the Broncos can't pay a defensive player that type of money and not expect to get a commensurate return on the field of play. Miller is a great locker room guy, arguably the face of the franchise, and a leader in the locker room.
But due to Miller's play, the Broncos are nearing that fork in the road where they have to start asking themselves these types of questions. Maybe Miller would be amenable to a restructure, knowing his contract runs through 2021. Maybe not.
Deadline Looms
These last two years of the six-year, $114.5M extension he signed back in 2016 come with a team option. The Broncos have until March 17 to make a decision on whether to exercise the option.
Based on what GM John Elway said during his end-of-season presser, the Broncos are more-than-likely to pick up Miller's option. But considering the amount of money he's made throughout his nine-year NFL career as a former No. 2 overall pick — and at one point being the highest-paid defensive player in league history — perhaps Miller would be open to restructuring his contract if it meant the Broncos could go out and add a few more pieces personnel-wise to get them closer to competing with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Broncos Aren't in Dire Straights Cap-Wise
On the surface, the Broncos are sitting pretty, projected to have around $62M in cap space entering free agency. That's a lot of money but when you factor in that the Broncos have 18 players poised to hit either unrestricted or restricted free agency, that cap space could dry up relatively quickly just by re-signing a few strategic veterans.
Of course, the Broncos will end up with more than $62M in cap space after they make a couple of expected cuts. As you can see, Joe Flacco currently joins Miller on that top-10 list, but the expectation is that the Broncos are going to release the veteran QB and just accept the $13.6M dead-cap charge, which will free up an additional $10.05M.
Like Miller, OG Ronald Leary is facing a team-option year and the Broncos can save $8.5M on the cap by declining it. So, between just Flacco and Leary, Denver can add another $18.5M to the already projected $62M, which puts the team in a much more fortuitous position.
Cost-Controlled QB Window is Finite
That level of cap freedom likely gives the team the prerogative of kicking Miller's contract down the road one more year without suffering any dire consequences. That's one of the benefits of having a cost-controlled quarterback like Drew Lock.
The flipside to that coin is that the window of having that cost-controlled QB is finite, so if the team is going to try and maximize the next three years, and make a push similar to the one the Chiefs made, as well as other teams in the recent past, the Broncos will want to invest into the personnel pieces that can accelerate the process.
The onus is on Elway to make some hay while the sun is shining. Having Miller on this roster probably gives Elway and the Broncos the best chance of doing just that.
But whether the front office attributes Miller's lackluster production in 2019 to being an outlier-type of season, or a symptom of a declining player, is a conclusion the Broncos are going to have to come to themselves. Before March 17.
Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen and @MileHighHuddle.
