Analysis
12/7/22
3 min read
Bills' Von Miller Out for Season With Torn ACL
Buffalo Bills defensive end Von Miller will miss the remainder of the season with a torn ACL, coach Sean McDermott told reporters on Wednesday.
"Very unfortunate situation for Von and our team," McDermott said. "We care for him like we would any player, and we know how much this means to him in terms of playing and being with the team, so we look forward to getting him back, obviously, off the field and his leadership. We are certainly thinking about him as he recovers."
Former Titans running back Eddie George, an analyst for The 33rd Team, doesn't believe the loss of Miller will be as impactful as many people are projecting.
"Given the depth and the quality of the defensive line for Buffalo, I think it's going to be a blip on the radar," said analyst Eddie George of The 33rd Team. "When you have guys like Greg Rousseau, Shaq Lawson, Ed Oliver, Jordan Phillips — and hopefully he'll be coming back from injury — it's just a rotating group of beasts. They get after the quarterback.
"The Bills are loaded at that position. They could afford to lose somebody ... and not skip a beat."
When Miller suffered his injury on Thanksgiving against the Detroit Lions, analyst Chris Long of The 33rd Team was worried about Buffalo's ability to get after the quarterback in key situations.
"After Von Miller exited the game it felt like the edge pressure wasn't the same threat," Long said. "[Miller] is a guy that when you play the best teams in the AFC, like Kansas City, where he came up with two sacks and nine pressures, some of which were the biggest plays in the game. These are the things that make the difference between winning and losing."
Miller was originally placed on injured reserve with the expectation he could return for the playoffs. Miller himself said he was hopeful he could return after missing just one game but exploratory surgery on Tuesday revealed his ACL was torn, NFL Media reported.
He tore the same ACL during the 2013 season when he was with the Denver Broncos. The Bills signed Miller to a six-year, $120 million contract this offseason after he helped the Los Angeles Rams win the Super Bowl. In 11 games this season, Miller recorded eight sacks, 12 quarterback hits and 10 tackles for loss.
The 33rd Team analyst and fellow Bills defensive lineman Gregory Rousseau said his team was focused on a next-man-up mentality when Miller went down.
"It's obvious. When somebody goes down, someone has to step up," Rousseau said. "There's not much else to talk about. We've had players go down and come up all season. The players who come up understand it's their time to step up, and they have a role to fill."
The Bills sit atop the AFC with a 9-3 record and have a rematch with the division rival New York Jets on Sunday.
