Von Miller views union with rising Commanders as a ‘good marriage'

New York Times

a day ago

ASHBURN, Va. — Here's how Von Miller realized that after 14 NFL seasons, he has adopted a more mature and appreciative mindset toward the game of football — and that he wasn't quite ready to hang it up.
'Being out of work for four months, your perspective kind of changes a little bit,' he said on Thursday during his first news conference as a member of the Washington Commanders. 'You know, back when we were young, it's like, 'Hey, y'all, we gotta go to OTAs,' and you're like, 'Man, I wish I was home.' Now, you're sitting on the couch for four months and you're saying, 'I wish I was at OTAs.' It's good dropping the kids off at school. It's good picking the kids up from school. But I wanted to go to work!'
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The Commanders came calling in late May, and Miller visited the facility before reflecting on the decision. A sufficient enough Daddy Daycare duty and optimism over Washington's chances of contending this season prompted Miller to commit to joining his fourth NFL team and to extending his future Hall of Fame career a 15th season.
Miller, an eight-time Pro Bowler, seven-time All-Pro and two-time Super Bowl champion, described himself as 'intentional' in his approach to finding his next team. After falling one game shy of the Super Bowl as Buffalo lost in the AFC Championship Game to Kansas City in January, Miller wanted to play for another contender.
'You just can't leave Josh Allen and just can't go from, you know, the AFC championship, and just go anywhere,' Miller said following Day 2 of Commanders training camp. 'And whenever you get older, too, losses, they like, pile up. It seems like it just hit way harder than what they used to when you were young. This team is all about winning. I'm all about winning. Whatever it takes to win, I'm gonna do. … There's nothing like winning. There's nothing like the locker room. There's nothing like coming in here and talking to you guys after a win. …
'The goal is to win them all. But in reality, you know, we're gonna have some struggles, and we'll have some adversity. That's all good, too. … Sometimes, most of the time, adversity reveals character, and it's all goodness at the end of the day, and they'll all just feed back into the main goal, and that's the end. So this team's all about winning. I'm all about winning, and it was a good marriage.'
Despite a competitive fire that still burns strongly, and because he turned 36 in March, Miller says he always works to maintain a realistic understanding of his capabilities and where he fits in the game of football.
'You don't want to get kicked out of the league, but you don't want to leave too early either,' he explained. 'I'm still in between that sweet spot, and, you know, I'm doing everything in my power to stay here.
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'This is all I wanted to do my whole entire life, is play football,' Miller added. 'So all those times where you get on your knees and pray, 'I hope I can get a scholarship to play football and college,' and then you get to college and pray for games, 'Please, let me play well enough so I can make it to the NFL,' and you make to the NFL and praying for championships and wins, and, you know, I still have that gift that God has given me.'
The Commanders agree that Miller, who has averaged 11.8 sacks and 23.4 quarterback hits per season, can remain a highly impactful force.
Offering his assessment of Miller based on film study and Wednesday's first practice, Washington coach Dan Quinn said, 'He's got different, unique talents. He can bend. He's long. He's versatile. So what I saw on tape, the quickness to beat somebody to the punch, and that's what pass rushing the first part has to be about — getting the offensive tackle back and feeling that stress. If you don't have that, it makes it difficult to put a lot of stress on the tackle.'
Fellow veteran linebacker Bobby Wagner insists Miller remains one of the top pass rushers in the league and said much of his prolonged effectiveness stems from keen instincts and a strong understanding of the game.
'If you watch a guy that's been in the game for a long time and understands, and you watch, like a rookie, there's not that many steps (for the veteran) because you know (where) the ball is going, so (the rookie) might take 10 steps to get to where he needs to walk. (The veteran) just takes two. I don't waste movement. … The first thing that you notice (about Miller) when you're out here is just how different his get-off is. He has a really good beat on when the ball is going to be snapped.
'And whether you are old or young, that is mental, that is training, that is, you know, getting off the snap for a really, really long time at a really high level. And some of those things you just can't teach. You can go as young as you want, but some things are just God-given, and you can't teach that.'
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When told of the flattering assessments and asked if his impressive skills are God-given or learned, Miller said, 'I think it's a little bit of both. I appreciate it. God is so good. He blessed me with this gift. It's still there, still doing the same thing I've been doing my whole entire career, and it's still there. Am I as fast as I used to be? Probably not, but it's still effective. And, you know, some of it's just all the biohacking stuff and how I pretty much do everything in the training and try to stay on top of my game so I can play as long as possible.'
If Miller can maintain his assault on left tackles and quarterbacks, he can help bolster a Washington defense that ranked third against the pass but only 13th on third downs last season. He can also help fill the void caused by the departure of Dante Fowler Jr., who led the team with 10 1/2 sacks in 2024.
Last season's acquisition of Wagner gave Washington not only a highly productive defender with a Super Bowl pedigree, but the former Seattle Seahawk also brought strong leadership and mentorship skills that helped elevate younger players. Wagner predicts that Miller will have a similar impact on the Commanders' locker room, and that's something Miller looks forward to.
'I've been around a lot of great pass rushers, from Aaron Donald to DeMarcus Ware to Elvis Dumervil, and they're all different and unique in their own different ways. So I'm able to just take whatever I saw from those guys and pay it forward to the young guys,' Miller said. 'I love being around the young guys. … It makes me feel good to be able to tell somebody some information that they wouldn't normally have had before. I don't tell them what I was doing, I tell them what I should have been doing, and that could be just different dynamics on the football field or rushing or just coming to work — just your daily process at work.
'So, I still love working with the young guys, and that's something that I'll be able to offer to this team.'
• Thursday marked Day 2 of wide receiver Terry McLaurin's holdout. Chris Moore again got the bulk of the reps in place of McLaurin, who is entering the final year of his contract and wants a long-term deal.
• Quinn said Thursday morning that it's too early to know if right guard Sam Cosmi (ACL) will be ready in time for the opener. 'I'm not going to say if he'll be ready or not. Just not sure yet. In another month, we'll have a good sense of where he's at.'
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Cosmi, who suffered the injury in the divisional round of the playoffs, has hit all of the target dates set for him by Washington's medical team, Quinn said, and is going through drills on the side while on the physically unable to perform list.
• In addition to Miller, left tackle Laremy Tunsil and wide receiver Noah Brown received a veteran day off. Andrew Wylie took the first-team reps at left tackle, and rookie Josh Conerly Jr. played right tackle.
• Because of an anticipated heat index of 109 degrees on Friday, Quinn has moved practice up from the previously scheduled 9 a.m. ET start time to 8 a.m. The players will have Saturday off and then return to work on Sunday.