Von Miller is 'fired up' at Bills camp after recording no sacks in 2023

Von Miller made an interesting admission Thursday afternoon following Day 2 of the Buffalo Bills training camp.

“Probably should not have played last year,” Miller said.

I think legions of Bills fans would wholeheartedly concur.

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The future Hall of Famer tried to come back from the torn ACL he suffered in November 2022 about nine months removed from surgery, and while that time frame can be fine for some players, it wasn’t realistic for a 34-year-old edge rusher who had already torn an ACL 10 years earlier.

Miller rushed himself back onto the field because he wanted to help the defense, but in reality, he hurt it because his snaps were so non-productive that it was as if the Bills were playing with 10 men on the field.

“If I was 50%, like nobody was going to stop me from going out there,” he said. “But the truth, just being honest with you guys, is my knee wasn’t at a place where I could go and I could move and I could do the things that I wanted to do. I mean, I could play but that was just about it.”

Why did the Bills let Von Miller play in 2023?

Which begs the question, who’s calling the shots at One Bills Drive? It seems to me that the team, Sean McDermott in particular, ceded to Miller’s wishes when in reality, they should have kept him inactive and given his snaps to younger, fresher players like Kingsley Jonathan and Shaq Lawson.

That did not happen. Instead, Miller played 14 games counting the postseason, a total of 296 snaps, and had a staggering lack of impact - zero sacks, 17 pressures, four tackles, and probably 80% of his snaps he was just taking up space.

“I’m Von Miller, I’m kind of measured by sacks, but I didn’t get any last year,” he said with a laugh, recognizing just how little he contributed. “You know, at 34 years old, to sit out a season and a half, it just wasn’t on my mind. I only know one way to view things and that’s the most optimistic way, and I wanted it to go better than what it was. I wanted to go out there and get 15 sacks. But the universe had other plans for me.”

Miller has now had another offseason of healing and as he enters what could be his last season with Buffalo - the team can get out of his original six-year contract without too much financial pain after 2024 - he knows he owes his teammates a better showing.

“I’m here now, year three, I’m feeling good, I’m ready to go,” he said. “I’m fired up that I didn’t have the type of production that I had last year, and I’m ready to go play football.”

McDermott hopes what Miller speaks is the truth because the Bills, after losing Leonard Floyd and his team-leading 10.5 sacks, need their other edge rushers like Miller, Greg Rousseau and A.J. Epenesa to be more productive than they were in 2023.

“I’m excited for Von,” McDermott said. “Coming off of an ACL, as long as I’ve been around this game, it’s not easy. I don’t care who you are. There’s been some variation in some guys coming back faster than others, but usually it’s in that second season where athletes are able to recapture their form. And that’s going to be a challenge, but that’s what Von’s here to do. I know he’s worked hard in the offseason and that’ll be a big piece for us as we move forward up front.”

Buffalo Bills news from training camp

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This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Von Miller is 'fired up' at Bills camp after recording no sacks in 2023