Von Miller wants to come home, but it’s hard to see a path back to Denver

Some athletes leave a city and quietly fade into the background. Von Miller is not one of them.

The Broncos legend remains as woven into the fabric of Denver as any player to ever wear the uniform. He’s a fan favorite whose name still draws cheers, whose No. 58 still hangs in living rooms and whose charity continues to operate in the community he never really left behind.

That last detail brought Miller back to Colorado recently. And during his visit, he used the platform to do a little lobbying of his own. Making clear, in his own way, that the door to a Broncos reunion is still open on his end.

On a Thursday edition of “Stokley and Evans, with Mark Schlereth” on 104.3 The Fan, Brandon Stokley walked through what such a homecoming would actually look like. And whether it has any real chance of materializing.

“I wouldn’t be against it. You hear him talk and he’s open and receptive to a reserve role,” Stokley said.

It’s a meaningful distinction. Miller isn’t pushing for a starting job. He isn’t asking the Broncos to build their pass rush around him. He is openly acknowledging that his role at this stage of his career would be a rotational one. A veteran presence who could contribute in specific situations and bring leadership to a young defense.

On its surface, that should make the conversation easier. But Stokley wasn’t buying that it would.

“Do I think it’s gonna happen? No,” he said.

The reasoning has nothing to do with sentiment and everything to do with roster fit. The Broncos are not in a position where they need to add an aging pass rusher. They’re deep, talented and young at the position, with their resources better spent developing the players already on the depth chart.

“I think they’ve moved on, and they don’t view it as a great fit,” Stokley said.

He elaborated on the specifics that make the math difficult.

“I don’t know if it’s a great fit. You look at (Nik) Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper, you know, what’s your plans here with Jonah Elliss?” Stokley said.

That trio represents the heart of the issue. Bonitto has developed into one of the most-disruptive pass rushers in the league. Cooper has continued to grow into a reliable contributor. And Elliss is a young player the Broncos clearly want to develop and integrate into the rotation. Bringing Miller into that mix doesn’t address a need, it crowds a room that is already full.

It’s the unfortunate reality of how these things tend to end. Von Miller will always belong to Denver in spirit. But the football fit, as Stokley laid it out, simply isn’t there. Sometimes a homecoming makes for a great story. And sometimes the story is better left in the past, where the memories remain undisturbed.

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