Broncos' Best Remaining Offseason Gamble Might Be Von Miller

Von Miller has expressed a strong desire to reunite with the Denver Broncos. The 37-year-old veteran began voicing it on his podcast as soon as the Washington Commanders' 2025 season ended, and he has continued to campaign for a return to Denver throughout the offseason.

When the Super Bowl 50 MVP first started his push, it didn't seem very feasible because of the Broncos' depth at outside linebacker. They were six deep, with an All-Pro at the top of the depth chart — Nik Bonitto — a tenured starter — Jonathon Cooper — and a handful of excellent rotational edge defenders, including several recent draft picks.

Shifting OLB Landscape

Fast forward to July, though, and the lay of the outside linebacker land in Denver has changed. Cooper was arrested twice inside of one week last month, charged with domestic violence and criminal mischief.

The Broncos took a "we're investigating and allowing the league to do its thing" tone on Cooper's first arrest. After the second one, though, that tone shifted to one of public disappointment. Who can blame the team?

The week following Cooper's second arrest, the Broncos held their mandatory minicamp, and they excused him from the proceedings. Clearly, the Broncos wanted to create some distance between the team and Cooper, and that could continue until his criminal proceedings are resolved.

Whether Cooper pleads guilty, is convicted, or is exonerated, the NFL is expected to hand down a suspension for violating the Personal Conduct Policy. The second arrest almost guaranteed NFL discipline will be forthcoming, which means the Broncos have to starting preparing for life without Cooper, even if he's not released.

How Miller Could Fit

Denver Broncos outside linebacker Von Miller (58) looks over the line of scrimmage against the Detroit Lions in the first quarter at Empower Field at Mile High. | USA TODAY Sports

This is where Miller could come back into the picture in a meaningful way. It might be a bit of a gamble to throw in with a veteran entering his 16th NFL season, but when it comes to Miller and the Broncos, magical things tend to unfold when they're united.

Miller earned eight Pro Bowl nods and seven All-Pro selections as a Bronco. He helped Denver win the division five straight years, and was the tip of the spear in Super Bowl 50.

Miller can still get the job done as an edge defender. He totaled nine sacks and 36 quarterback pressures last year with the Commanders, despite only starting three games.

Relative to Cooper's performance in 2025, I wouldn't view Miller as a step-down in any way, if he were to be signed by the Broncos and plugged into the starting lineup. Cooper faded bigly down the stretch last season, posting just one sack in the Broncos' final eight games, and his run defense slipped, too, especially his edge discipline.

The Youth Issue

The Broncos have another potential starter waiting in the wings in Jonah Elliss, who enters Year 3 as a 2024 third-round pick. Elliss could be relied upon to start in Cooper's place, but the drawback with Elliss is the availability question, as he had some injury issues last season, missing four games.

Behind Elliss are Dondrea Tillman and 2025 fourth-rounder Que Robinson, the latter of whom had one heck of a 2026 offseason. Tillman isn't exactly chopped liver, having produced nine sacks for the Broncos as a rotational player over the past two seasons.

Bringing up the rear at outside linebacker is another former third-round pick, Drew Sanders. Then there are a couple of recent undrafted players, but the Broncos are giving Sanders one more opportunity to catch on and make a mark as he enters a contract year. Injuries wiped out his second and third NFL seasons, so this is his last chance to make something happen for himself before his contract expires.

What Elliss, Tillman, Robinson, and Sanders all bring to the table that Miller does not — besides youth — is special teams acumen. At his age, Miller isn't trying to suddenly start a third-phase career. He's never played special teams, and he never will.

Because of that, it would really only make sense to sign Miller if the Broncos were going to start him opposite Bonitto. The other caveat to Miller returning would be... Cooper being released.

That could happen when training camp gets a little closer, regardless of the Miller question. The shocking nature of Cooper's alleged misdeeds might be more than the Broncos are willing to suffer from a PR perspective.

Plus, as a bona fide Super Bowl contender, the Broncos don't need the off-the-field distraction that Cooper's presence might be. That's why the team excused him from minicamp, if we're being honest.

The Takeaway

So, here's how the dominoes would have to fall if Miller were to reunite with the Broncos:

Cooper is released
Miller signs to be a starter
Elliss, Tillman, Robinson, and Sanders offer third-phase support

Again, it might be a bit of a gamble, and much would depend on the money Miller is looking for, but I could see it working out to the Broncos' benefit. Some have argued that a Miller return would somehow stunt the growth of the younger players, but I don't buy that.

Miller's return would take the pressure off all the young guys to suddenly be thrust into a starting role; it would provide the defense with a reliable, experienced edge presence on one side, and it might sprinkle some additional Mile High Magic on the Broncos' bid to put a fourth Lombardi Trophy in the case at team headquarters.

Sign up for our free Denver Broncos On SI newsletter, and get breaking Broncos news delivered to your inbox daily!

Add us as a preferred source on Google