In case there was any doubt, longtime star pass rusher and future Hall of Famer Von Miller recently clarified that he does intend to play for a 15th season at the age of 37 in 2026. Miller also took the chance to lobby again to land with the Broncos, which would perhaps be a full-circle moment for his illustrious career. 

Things might not line up for a reunion with Denver barring some kind of major injury, but Miller should still have something to give as a productive role player for a team this year. In a situational pass rush role for the Washington Commanders last year, Miller racked up nine sacks on just 37 percent of the snaps. In a similar part-time role for the Bills a year earlier, Miller notched six sacks on about the same ratio of snaps. 

He may be a one-dimensional player now, but it’s a heck of a trick that teams will pay a nice little chunk of change for. The best way to think of Miller is as a closer who can come into the game on high-leverage downs and give a contending team more teeth in its pass rush. Miller has also proven to be a positive locker room force as a leader and mentor for young pass rushers. 

Right now, Miller is No. 9 all-time on the official sack leaderboard (but 13th if you go by Pro Football Reference’s tracker that goes to 1960 instead of 1982 when sacks started being officially tracked. He needs just three to equal Michael Strahan and either jump up into the top 10 or to No. 6, depending on your reference. That should be absolutely attainable. 

Miller, 37, is a former first-round pick of the Broncos back in 2011. After playing out his rookie deal, Denver picked up his fifth-year option and later used their franchise tag on Miller.

The Broncos signed Miller to a six-year, $114 million extension in 2016 with $70 million guaranteed. He made $18 million in 2020 with $6 million fully guaranteed and counted $25.625 million against the cap.

Denver officially picked up Miller’s option in 2021 at a figure of $18 million. However, the Broncos traded Miller to the Rams at the deadline for second and third-round picks while also eating most of his remaining salary. Miller then ended up winning the Super Bowl in his first season with the Rams.

Miller went on to sign a six-year, $120 million deal with the Buffalo Bills as an unrestricted free agent in 2022. He agreed to a pay cut to remain with the Bills in 2024 but was let go this offseason to save cap space. He then signed a one-year deal with Washington for the 2025 season.

In 2025, Miller appeared in all 17 games for the Commanders and recorded 26 total tackles, six tackles for loss and nine sacks. 

We have him included in our Top 100 Available NFL Free Agents list.

Kansas City Chiefs

Among the many problems last year exposed for the Chiefs is that their pass rush is substandard when compared to the elite tier in the NFL. Star DT Chris Jones remains a game-wrecker and DE George Karlaftis is a quality starter, but more of an all-around player than a true high-end pass rusher. Jones is really the workhorse Kansas City has to rely on to create pressure and that can make life harder for DC Steve Spagnuolo. The Chiefs were third in the NFL in blitz rate last year but just 13th in pressure percentage and 23rd in sacks. 

The Chiefs have invested some Day 2 picks the last couple of years to try and beef up the rotation, including a second-rounder this year on R Mason Thomas, who’s a smaller, speedier, sub-package rusher type. He drew comparisons to Broncos OLB Nik Bonitto and not just because both went to Oklahoma. However, it’s a tall task for any rookie to be counted on as the savior for the Chiefs’ pass rush. 

Miller isn’t a single solution either but he would add another proven commodity in the same style as Bonitto to the room and help the Chiefs get closer to having waves of pass rushers they can attack opposing offenses with. Not only would he give the team a closer to help salt games out at the end, he’d be a particularly valuable presence for Thomas as he gets his feet wet in the NFL. Between the Broncos and Bills, the Chiefs have had to deal with Miller as an opponent for a while. It might be nice to get him on their side. 

New England Patriots

The Patriots identified their pass rush as a place they needed to improve substantially to avoid getting wrecked like they did in the Super Bowl last year. They added veteran OLB Dre’Mont Jones and used a second-round pick on Gabe Jacas, adding them to a room that included veteran Harold Landry. Undrafted rookie Elijah Ponder also looks like a potentially interesting find. 

Still, more firepower is needed. Miller would add another option to the rotation, and he has a different pitch than the others. Jones, Landry and Jacas are more power rushers, Miller still has his first step and quickness even at 37. There’s definitely a benefit to mixing different styles to change things up for opposing blockers during the game. Miller would also be a positive for the younger players the Patriots are hoping to develop here. 

Green Bay Packers

It feels like every few weeks, someone reports Packers OLB Micah Parsons is expected to start the season on the PUP list and treats it like it’s new information. So it’s safe to say Parsons will probably miss some time for the Packers to start the season before being eased back in. Ultimately, if he’s at his best in December and January, the Packers can work with that as long as they survive his absence and get a ticket to the postseason. 

Figuring that out will be the trick because the rest of the edge rusher room after Parsons does not inspire a huge amount of confidence. Green Bay moved on from veteran OLB Rashan Gary due to salary constraints and frustrations about his lack of production, both with and without Parsons in the lineup. Former first-round DE Lukas Van Ness had his fifth-year option picked up but he has 8.5 sacks in three seasons, including just 1.5 last year in nine games. Youngsters like Brenton Cox Jr., Collin Oliver, Barryn Sorrell and fourth-rounder Dani Dennis-Sutton round out the rest of the room. 

Without Parsons, that’s a pretty scruffy-looking group. Green Bay is a developmentally-minded organization and probably wants to be cautious about taking away reps from young players and stunting their growth. But it’s also a production business, and there was pressure on the coaching staff last year before HC Matt LaFleur got an extension to keep him out of a lame duck season. There’s a strong case to be made here that the Packers need someone like Miller to help keep them afloat until Parsons can get back and make it so Green Bay isn’t relying on so many unproven players. 

Not to mention, the idea of teaming Miller up with Parsons in December and January has to be appealing for new DC Jonathan Gannon.

San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers were shockingly bad as a pass-rushing team last year. They could credibly blame injuries to DE Nick Bosa, first-round DE Mykel Williams and others, but just 20 sacks is a tough look. The expectation is that a healthy Bosa goes a long way toward fixing that, along with development from Williams, DE Keion White and third-rounder Romello Height coming in as a designated pass rusher type. 

Still, the construction of that room feels like it’s putting a ton of pressure on Bosa to have no rust coming off the second torn ACL of his career. Miller falls into the DPR type that Height was drafted for but he’s a more proven option. Bringing him in to play on third downs across from Bosa would give the 49ers a big boost, and they would check the box as a contending team that Miller is likely seeking at this stage of his career.