New Denver Broncos general manager George Paton inherited plenty of difficult roster decisions for 2021 and beyond, not the least of which was what to do about Von Miller and his 2021 contract option.
The Broncos have until Wednesday — the start of the new league year — to decide what they are going to do about Miller’s contract option which will trigger $7 million in guaranteed salary and essentially assure he plays out the season in Denver.
With that being said, it appears fans have been given their first warning that Miller could be going elsewhere after it seemed a few weeks ago that both sides wanted to make something happen so that Von could retire a Bronco.
While no decision has been made on whether the Broncos would pick up Von Miller's $7 million option, don't rule out possibility of Von wanting to move on and Broncos wanting to go in another direction. Could make sense for both sides to have amicable split. #9sports
— Mike Klis (@mikeklis) March 15, 2021
The way Broncos insider Mike Klis worded that Tweet makes it sound like the possibility of Von Miller leaving Denver and hitting the open market sounds more like a probability.
That is not the most welcome news for Broncos Country and it certainly would be tough for a new general manager to sell his short- and long-term plan for the franchise by letting a player like Von Miller walk as one of his first acts as the man in charge of building the roster.
Does the decision make some sense? Financially, certainly. The Broncos could save $18 million on the 2021 salary cap by letting Miller hit free agency but if that’s the case, they would be without Von Miller.
That seems like a pretty unfair trade, even for a large chunk of cap space.
Miller was recently at the team facility to say hello to some of his teammates and meet the new GM Paton. Prior to that meeting, the reports we were hearing and reading indicated there was mutual motivation for a new deal so that Von could stay in Denver and the team’s cap space could increase in the process.
Now, since that meeting took place, the tone has changed pretty considerably.
The closer we get to the start of the new league year, the less it feels like Von Miller will be a member of the Broncos in 2021. That is painful to even type out.
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If Von does leave the Denver Broncos, he would have no shortage of suitors. There are still a couple of days for the Broncos to think this one out. It’s certainly a huge financial decision but it would also require the team to have some type of alternative plan in place to replace Miller.