Nothing can derail the excitement of training camp quite like an injury to a star player. Denver Broncos star pass rusher Nik Bonitto left Tuesday's practice with a noticable limp, and didn't return.
While head coach Sean Payton said after practice that Bonitto will be "fine", the injury is the latest warning to the team to just sign Von Miller for a reunion tour already. Miller has publicly campaigned throughout the 2026 offseason to sign in Denver for one last ride, but it's been pretty one-sided interest at this point.
As much as Miller has said he'd be willing to play for the Broncos in a rotational role and for the cheap, the team doesn't seem to have any interest in bringing him back. A handful of circumstances already popping up this offseason should change that.
Broncos have gotten all the warnings they should need to just sign Von Miller
More than just being a fun move, the Broncos have every reason to add another veteran pass rusher into the mix right now. During OTAs, Jonathon Cooper was arrested not once but twice, and his situation could potentially result in missed time due to suspension if the NFL determines he violated the league's personal conduct policy.
Now, you have your top pass rusher suffering an injury in training camp, limping off the field into the locker room.
If there was ever going to be a time where you might assess the situation and say that a veteran of Miller's caliber is called for, it would have to be right now.
Even though Bonitto is expected to be "fine" at some point, how many signs do the Broncos need to make a Von Miller reunion happen?
Just about every other team around the league seems to be making fun reunion signings, and the Broncos feel like they're causing fans to miss out.
Miller hasn't lost the ability to get after the quarterback, even as he approaches his age-37 season. He has played roughly 700 snaps over the last two seasons combined, and he has 15 total sacks (9 last season), 35 pressures, and 23 quarterback hits. Part of the issue with adding him to a team like the Broncos is that he doesn't play special teams, which most guys at the back of a rotation off the edge need to be able to do.
But all of the unwritten roster rules like that need to go out the window in a situation like this. The Broncos need to show a little urgency, maybe even desperation, with the team this close to a Super Bowl. It will be an unforgivable act of roster malpractice if the team had the opportunity to sign Von Miller in the summer, and then something happens during the regular season causing them to wish they had, but they passed.
If the team is considering a move like signing Taysom Hill, it doesn't make any sense why they would scoff at the idea of adding a player like Von Miller.
The Broncos don't need to sacrifice snaps and reps for young guys like Jonah Elliss and Que Robinson, or even Dondrea Tillman. But the idea of this team trying to pick up the pieces if they are missing one of Cooper or Bonitto at any point this season, forsaking the chance to sign Von Miller all offseason, is ridiculous.
The Broncos have tons of salary cap space (over $37 million). The offseason arrests for Cooper and now the training camp injury suffered by Bonitto -- no matter how minor -- feel like warning signs the team cannot ignore.
The time to bring back Von Miller for one last ride is now.
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