The face of the franchise has been traded.
The Broncos sent All-Pro linebacker Von Miller to the Los Angeles Rams on Monday, one day ahead of the trade deadline, in exchange for second- and third-round picks in 2022, according to a league source.
The trade won’t be officially announced until Miller, who missed Sunday’s win over Washington with an ankle injury, passes a physical and signs the required paperwork with the Rams. The deal was finalized ahead of Tuesday’s 2 p.m. deadline.
“This was a surprise,” Miller told reporters outside the team facility. “You see (trade rumors) in the media, every year for the last four years, I’ve seen it. But it’s hard to grip with reality sometimes. This team, they’re going to start winning soon. We’ve got a lot of great players and a lot of great coaches here, and the staff is amazing. I wanted to be a part of it to fix it, but you’ve just got to keep moving.”
Miller added: “I had a lot of beautiful years here, a lot of great memories, a lot of great teammates, a lot of great coaches, a lot of great fans. I’ll never forget all of those people.”
Miller is in the last year of his contract, and the Broncos will pick up $9 million of the remaining $10.5 million of his 2021 salary, according to a source. Denver gets value for a player whose future beyond this season is unknown, while cap-conscious and Super Bowl hungry Los Angeles gets a veteran on the cheap.
“You probably are trading (Miller) for the third-rounder and (retaining) the money for the second-rounder,” a league source explained. “That’s the best way to put it. It’s pretty good (for the Broncos) for a player who probably wasn’t going to be there next year.”
Miller met individually this morning at the Broncos’ facility with general manager George Paton, coach Vic Fangio, president/CEO Joe Ellis and president of football operations John Elway.
According to a source, Miller’s name came up last week when the Broncos and Rams completed a trade for inside linebacker Kenny Young, who was acquired by the Broncos last Tuesday. Paton and Rams general manager Les Snead continued their Miller-related dialogue over the weekend.
The Super Bowl 50 MVP is an eight-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro. Miller has 4.5 sacks and 19 tackles this year, including seven tackles for loss.
The 32-year-old missed all of 2020 because of ankle surgery from an injury suffered the week before the season opener. He is the Broncos’ all-time sack leader at 110.5 since entering the league as a first-round draft pick in 2011, and the NFL’s active sack leader ranks 23rd on the all-time list. He’s recorded at least a half-sack against 55 different QBs during his 11-year career.
Miller earned AFC Defensive Player of the Month honors in September, but had just half of a sack in October. Miller sprained his ankle late in the first half against Cleveland on Oct. 21, and Broncos coach Vic Fangio said he expected Miller to be available for the Broncos’ game against the Cowboys this week.
That matchup has changed for Miller, of course, as he’ll now be with the Rams taking on Tennessee in a Week 9 primetime matchup on Sunday Night Football. Though the trade is not expected to be officially announced until Tuesday, the Rams tweeted, “We’re all in” on Monday morning.
“Great team, and I’ve been a huge fan of Aaron Donald for a long time,” Miller said. “They’ve got a great defense — Jalen Ramsey, Leonard Floyd, all these guys. I’m excited — I’ve always been a team guy and I’ve always been a great teammate, and I’m going to continue to do the same thing.”
This is the third trade near the deadline by Paton. Last week, the Broncos acquired inside linebacker Kenny Young from the Rams and outside linebacker Stephen Weatherly from the Vikings. Ahead of the news breaking of Miller’s trade on Monday morning, Fangio (wearing a poker face) said he trusts Paton’s deadline instincts.
“I told him to do what he feels he needs to do,” Fangio said. “We’re going to coach, and coach winning football, with what we’ve got. I’ve not tried to influence him one way or the other (with trades).”
Kicker Brandon McManus is now the lone player left on Denver’s current roster from the Super Bowl 50 team. And judging by the reaction on social media following the trade, at least a couple notable Broncos aren’t thrilled with Miller’s departure.
Running back Melvin Gordon wrote, “Bro wtf,” while wideout Tim Patrick simply tweeted a neutral face emoji.
This is a developing story that will be updated. 
