What cannot be seen will hopefully soon be forgotten for Von Miller in 2024.
Miller revealed at Bills organized team activities this week that he’s finally been able to practice without a brace on his right knee for the first time since suffering a major injury that hampered his 2023 season.
“I have continued to grind and continued to work on my knee,” Miller said, via the Democrat & Chronicle. “Everything revolves around my health and how my knee is feeling. So far I’ve been practicing without a knee brace and that’s something I could not do last year. So I know during the season once you get in the mix and the games, I should be able to go.”
Miller suffered the season-ending knee injury on Thanksgiving Day in 2022. He began the 2023 season on the PUP list as he continued to rehab the catastrophic injury, which included an ACL tear and damage to his meniscus. But the eight-time Pro Bowler struggled upon his return, producing just three tackles while being held sackless across 12 regular-season games (258 snaps).
Miller remained unproductive on the stat sheet during Buffalo’s playoff run, which featured more injuries to the Bills defense. The season culminated in a one-score loss to the Chiefs in the Divisional Round — a game in which the Bills failed to sack Patrick Mahomes even once — but Miller saw a silver lining toward the end of his year as it pertained to his knee, and hopes it serves as a jumping-point going into 2024.
“My last three games of the season — Miami, Pittsburgh, Kansas City — were my best games of the year,” he said. “I hate that it waited all the way to that point but that’s what it took. So I’ve been trying to use that to springboard into this season.”
For an esteemed pass rusher with 123.5 career sacks to his name, Miller’s on-field absence was a surprise to most. Yet, coming back from such a major injury would be tough for anyone, let alone a 13-year veteran playing in his age-35 season.
A healthier and more confident Miller would be a godsend for a Buffalo squad that lost several notable players on defense, including Leonard Floyd, the team’s 2023 sack leader, longtime safety tandem Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde, and cornerback Tre’Davious White.
The Bills still possess a strong defensive line which portends to be the force that maintains order on defense in 2024. Miller, who signed a six-year, $120 million deal with the Bills in 2022, is growing confident he can be a viable pass rusher on that unit as he finally puts his knee injury in the rearview.
