Von Miller not playing in preseason opener: Who benefits most?

The Denver Broncos will not let Von Miller risk injury in the preseason opener against the Chicago Bears. Who benefits most in his absence?

The Denver Broncos are set to take on the Chicago Bears in week one of the NFL preseason, and they will be without star linebacker Von Miller — intentionally.

This is great news, even though selfishly we all would love to see Von play as much as possible. He’s just a treat to watch. The reality of the situation is, for Von Miller, this game is meaningless. He doesn’t need the reps.

For others, this is a chance to benefit greatly. I thought of a few who will benefit the most from Miller’s absence, starting with the man himself:

Von Miller

Let’s face it — there’s no reason for Von Miller to play in this game.

Miller is the Broncos’ most valuable player. Vance Joseph said that the plan for the first string defense in this game is to play one, two, maybe three series. If that’s the case, and Miller only ended up playing three plays on one three-and-out drive, who cares?

We’re not going to learn anything new about Von Miller in this game, so having him in pads and out on the field going full speed is basically just flirting with disaster.