Von Miller says he tried to re-join Broncos before season

Von Miller will line up against the Denver Broncos on Sunday, but had one conversation this offseason gone a little differently, he would be playing against the Washington Commanders and not for them in this primetime game.

On his own Free Range Podcast, the NFL legend detailed reaching out to Broncos general manager George Paton over the offseason.

“I was a free agent for a long time. I reached out to the Denver Broncos, I tried to be on the Denver Broncos, but it was a short conversation,” Miller said. “I want to be a GM, and I look at teams from a GM perspective, and it wasn’t a fit for Von Miller to be on this team.”

Miller then runs through the Broncos roster, highlighting the team’s depth at EDGE and understanding how he really didn’t have a role to return home to Broncos Country.

Von Miller says he reached out to George Paton and 'tried to be on the Broncos' earlier this offseason pic.twitter.com/mx990vJskU

— Xan (@XanB21) November 25, 2025

The Broncos’ all-time sack leader, who lingered on the market this summer after the Buffalo Bills released him in March. They opted to save $8.4 million on their salary cap rather than bring him back after three seasons in which he logged 11 sacks over 41 games played. So he signed with the Commanders just before training camp.

Miller returned to the Denver area in late May to distribute eyeglasses to local children as part of his Von’s Vision charity, he acknowledged that he wouldn’t be coming back to the Broncos this offseason — even though former teammate Julius Thomas had publicly lobbied for it. So that conversation with Paton must have happened before that.

Still, the future in Denver may include Miller.

“Who knows what it will look like this coming year,” Miller says about the Broncos.

Would the longtime star pair with the team’s current stud at the position Nik Bonitto? It would be a fun twist after Paton traded Miller to the Los Angeles Rams, where he won a Super Bowl and then used the draft pick acquired to select Bonitto.

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