Cowboys 'Due Diligence' on Signing Rams Super Bowl Pass-Rusher Von Miller
FRISCO - The projections of a contract for free agent Von Miller, the future Hall-of-Fame-caliber pass-rusher, are all over the map, and the reason for that is understandable.
The DFW native is still a star. But there is "age on him.'' And there is an assumption that the "Football Heaven'' Los Angeles Rams sort of already have an "arrangement'' wrapped up. But the idea of Miller "coming home'' has been written about often.
So one Rams-centric site suggests the defending champs from Los Angeles can help "run it back'' by signing Miller to "a four-year deal worth $30 million. ... that could be managed into a 2022 salary cap hit of $4.5 million.''
At an APY of $7.5 million? That doesn't seem exorbitant ... as long as it is accepted that it means Miller will be on the books at age 36.
PFF suggests a projected contract of two years and $17 million total. OK, that's $8.5 million APY. That's creeping up there a little bit. ...
And Spotrac says Miller's "average annual salary'' value is at $10.6 million and that he should get a two-year deal for a commitment of $21.2 million.
So ... $7.5 million? Or $8.5 million? Or $10.6 million? Which is the right answer?
We've been told that it might actually be close to the same $13 million to $14 million that Dallas was giving Randy Gregory before he bolted to the Broncos.
So the Cowboys have carved out a five-year, $70-million slot for Gregory.
Why not give it to Von Miller?
NFL Network's Jane Slater has a Cowboys front-office response to that question: "We're working on it,'' she was told on Tuesday afternoon.
Later she added that the Cowboys are doing their "due diligence.''
But Dallas knew what it wanted to do with pass-rusher Gregory. "All our chips are in,'' one source tells CowboysSI.com. "He's the priority,'' says another, before it all fell apart on Tuesday.
So the chips still sit there, unused. And maybe here inside The Star, the powers-that-be should play some shop-and-compare.
Miller, the second-overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft out of Texas A&M, in 2021 totaled 9.5 regular-season sacks (4.5 with Denver before the trade to the Rams, five after that). In three postseason games, the former Super Bowl MVP recorded two more sacks. His 115 career sacks make the eight-time Pro Bowler an all-timer, presently No. 22 on the NFL history leaderboard, chasing the likes of Lawrence 132.5 (14th all-time) and DeMarcus Ware (ninth all-time) at 138.5. (Bruce Smith is up top with 200.)
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/page/bodyvonmiller/denver-broncos-star-von-miller-talks-geek-life-mozzarella-sticks-body-issue-2016
He is and has for a decade been, in many ways, the impact pass-rusher the Cowboys dream of Gregory becoming.
Dallas was led in 2021 by rookie Micah Parsons with 13 sacks. Gregory is going to 30 years old and was second on the team with six sacks.
If Gregory - three years younger than Miller, it is worth noting - is worth $15 million, is Miller worth $10.6 mil? Or $8.5 mil? Or $7.5 mil?
D210SPORTS
This can go for Chandler Jones or for Bobby Wagner, too - they're already having "exploratory talks" with former Seattle Seahawks linebacker Wagner.
The Cowboys traditionally don't bother with exploring the higher-priced outsiders in free agency, preferring to pay their own. But ... stuff happens. As it just. And Dallas can still salvage the Gregory mess with an established star who might actually be a better player.
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