The Buffalo Bills signed Von Miller earlier this year with just one goal in mind - win a Super Bowl. That won’t happen in 2022.
The Bills were rocked late on Wednesday by the news that Miller has a torn ACL and will not play again this season. It’s a big blow for a team which hired him to get them over the hump in January and February.
Miller, now 33, had been due to return to action soon after suffering a knee injury in Buffalo’s narrow win over the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving. The initial diagnosis was damage to the lateral meniscus and cartilage, and the Bills placed him on IR to give him four weeks to heal ahead of the post-season.
When surgery took place to fix that known issue, doctors then found the torn ACL - which had not been detected on earlier MRIs. And with that, the superstar pass rusher’s season was over.
Von Miller a difference maker
The Bills had signed Miller to a $120million six-year contract earlier this year in the hope he would have the same impact he did for the Los Angeles Rams in 2021. L.A. traded for him in mid-season from Denver, and he was key to their Super Bowl triumph earlier this year.
Miller, the ultimate big-game player, had already racked up 8 sacks this season and has 123.5 so far in a career which will ultimately lead him to Canton and the Hall of Fame.
The former Texas A&M standout was drafted second overall by the Denver Broncos in 2011 and won a Super Bowl with the Broncos in 2016. He was named Super Bowl MVP in that defeat of the Carolina Panthers, and has 4.5 sacks in his two Super Bowl wins.
Buffalo remains a 7/2 favourite with Sky Bet to win Super Bowl LVII in Glendale, Arizona next February, but the loss of Miller undoubtedly makes their task harder.
The 9-3 Bills also currently own the #1 seed for the AFC playoffs as the 2022 regular season approaches the business end.