The Denver Broncos are finalizing a deal to send franchise icon Von Miller to the Los Angeles Rams, ending a decade-long stint with the team, CBS Sports NFL insider Jason La Canfora confirms. The Rams will be sending two 2022 draft picks — a second-round and a third-round selection — to Denver in exchange for Miller.
Miller spent his first 10-plus seasons with the Broncos, totaling 110.5 sacks in 142 games with the franchise. The MVP of Super Bowl 50, Miller has seven double-digit sack seasons with three All-Pro selections and eight Pro Bowl appearances. In seven games with the Broncos this season, Miller has 4.5 sacks, 19 tackles and nine quarterback hits.
Miller has been the premier pass rusher in the NFL for the last decade as his 110.5 sacks since 2011 lead the league. His 142 tackles for loss are second only to J.J. Watt and his 225 quarterback hits are third to Watt and Carlos Dunlap — and this was with Miller missing the entire 2020 season due to an Achilles injury.
Craving even more NFL coverage focusing on previews, recaps, news and analysis? Listen below and follow the Pick Six podcast for a daily dose of everything you need to follow pro football.
The Broncos agreed to pay $9 million of Miller’s remaining $9.7 million salary, a huge reason why Denver was able to recoup a pair of Day 2 draft picks for Miller. The former No. 2 overall pick is in the final year of an six-year, $114.5 million contract, and will be a free agent at the conclusion of the season.
Miller will be joining a Rams defense that already has Jalen Ramsey and Aaron Donald on the unit, yet is ranked just 10th in points allowed and 21st in yards allowed. The Rams defense already has the most sacks in football, leading the league with 25 through eight games. Their 107 pressures are fifth in the league. Los Angeles just pressures on 29.7% of their snaps, good for 20th in the NFL — making the Miller addition even more valuable going forward.
The Rams no longer have a draft pick in the first four rounds in 2022 due to a plethora of “win-now” deals involving Miller, Jared Goff, and Brandin Cooks. The only pick the Rams have coming in the first two days of the draft is a compensatory third-round selection resulting in the hiring of Brad Holmes by the Detroit Lions as general manager (Holmes was the director of scouting for the Rams last season), as Los Angeles became the first team to receive two third-round compensatory draft picks as part of the NFL’s new hiring initiatives with the Rooney Rule.
Los Angeles has just three draft picks (not counting compensatory) in the 2022 draft, a fifth-round pick and two seventh-round picks. The Rams are clearly going for a Super Bowl championship with the Miller deal, as they enter Week 9 with a 7-1 record — tied with the Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers for the best record in the NFC.
