Von Miller wants to return to the Denver Broncos. We’ve been hearing the buzz since before the 2025 season ended.
Miller has said things on his podcast, and other reports indicate he strongly wants to return to the Mile High City. Miller’s pursuit of a Broncos reunion has continued at the NFL Combine, according to Walter Football‘s Charlie Campbell.
“Witnessed last night at the NFL Scouting Combine, veteran pass rusher Von Miller was talking and lobbying Broncos front office members to bring him back to Denver next season. Miller really wants to be a Bronco again,” Campbell posted on X.
Miller was the Broncos’ No. 2 overall pick in the 2011 NFL draft. Von was John Elway’s first-ever draft pick as the Broncos’ top football executive. Miller went on to establish himself as perennial All-Pro and Pro Bowler.
Miller was pivotal in the Broncos’ last Super Bowl run. His 2.5 sacks and two forced fumbles served as the tip of the Broncos’ spear in their 24-10 upset over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50. Miller was named the game’s MVP.
Miller stuck around in Denver for many years after Peyton Manning rode off into the sunset. The Broncos became an AFC West dormat over that span, but it wasn’t for Miller’s lack of trying.
Miller continued to produce double-digit sack seasons up until 2019, when he finished with eight. He missed the following season with an injury, and only a few games into his 2021 campaign, he was traded to the Los Angeles Rams by Broncos GM George Paton.
Traded to L.A.
Fortunately for Miller, as emotional as his departure from the Broncos was, he helped the Rams win the Super Bowl, earning him another ring. It’s been all downhill since then.
The last season that Miller posted double-digit sacks was in 2018 when he had 14.5 as a Bronco. That was Bradley Chubb’s rookie season.
Last year, Miller notched nine sacks with the Washington Commanders in a rotational (backup) role (three starts). That’s impressive for a depth pass rusher, which implies the soon-to-be 37-year-old still has gas left in the tank.
No Room at OLB
However, there doesn’t appear to be any room at the outside linebacker inn at Broncos HQ. Nik Bonitto is a back-to-back Pro Bowler. Jonathon Cooper, like Bonitto, is playing on a second contract and has totaled 18.5 sacks over the past two seasons.
Behind those two starters, the Broncos have a pair of draft picks — Jonah Elliss and Que Robinson — and a very productive former undrafted free agent in Dondrea Tillman. The Broncos have one of the best rush linebacker rooms in the NFL.
Who’s going to take a back seat to accommodate Miller? He’s within spitting distance of being 40 years old, while Elliss, Tillman, and Robinson are all young.
Unless the Broncos were to trade Cooper or one of the young backups, it’s hard to see an environment in Denver that Miller would fit. The fan base loves the Super Bowl 50 MVP, but his return to Denver is most likely to come when he signs a one-day contract to announce his retirement as a Bronco.
You Never Know
Never say never. Miller wants to come home, though… bad.
“Y’all make room for me over there with the Denver Broncos,” Miller said on his Free Range podcast back in January. “I would love to be in that linebacke room and give Nik Bonitto all the knowledge that I got, everything that I got, for him to be the best version of himself. … I would love to be a Denver Bronco next season and be in that linebacker room with him, and Jonathon Cooper, and contribute in any that I can to improve those guys.”
“Any of the knowledge that I have, I will give to you. The same way DeMarcus [Ware] did for me, Elvis Dumervil did for me, Shaun Phillips did for me. I would love to do that for those young guys with the Denver Broncos.”
Front Office Goal Post-Playing Career
It’s cool to see Miller campaigning for a Broncos return at the Combine. But he’s also there, in all likelihood, to begin learning the scouting ropes.
Miller’s goal for life after football is to get into an NFL front office. He wants to be a general manager some day.
John Elway did it. He won a Super Bowl as a former Hall-of-Fame player, as did Ozzie Newsome. Miller could be the next guy to pull it off, if his post-playing dreams are realized.
I wouldn’t put it past him.
