3 mistakes George Paton has made during Broncos tenure

Mistakes made during George Paton’s tenure so far as GM

Appeared to not make an effort to bring back Von Miller

Von Miller was traded to the Los Angeles Rams during the 2021 season, ending what was an incredible era of Broncos defensive football.  Miller is arguably the best player in team history and is a first-ballot Hall of Fame pass rusher.

Since leaving Denver, Miller has played in 13 games between the regular and postseason for the Rams and his new team, the Buffalo Bills.  In those 13 games, he has 11 sacks, two forced fumbles, 16 QB hits, and 49 total tackles.

His production is still right on pace with what he’s done during his career with the Broncos.  Von Miller had 117 total sacks for the Broncos in 149 games between the regular and post-season.  That’s an average of .78 sacks per game.

His 11 sacks in his last 13 games since being traded is a rate of .85 sacks per game.  Miller hasn’t appeared to have lost any juice, and the stage was set for his return to Denver after the acquisition of Russell Wilson.  The Broncos clearly had a need for a pass rusher, and Von Miller was a free agent.

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I don’t personally buy that cap space was a true issue, since teams are always finding a way to manipulate the cap.  Signing Randy Gregory, a much lesser pass rusher, wasn’t the move that many of us were hoping for.  Von Miller can still play at a high level, and it’s head-scratching as to why George Paton seemingly didn’t try at all to bring him home.