The Buffalo Bills appear to have been a team on the verge of success for a number of seasons. They only need to take one more step to get to the Super Bowl. The Bills will have another opportunity in 2024, and roster changes might prompt them to start searching for potential trade targets before the 2024 training camp season begins.
Von Miller, an edge rusher, is at the top of the list when considering trade candidates rather than players the team needs or should deal. Linebacker Nicholas Morrow and tight end Dawson Knox will be joining Miller.
Let’s first discuss the primary justifications for thinking about trading Miller. His objective is to win the Super Bowl; he is 35 years old and has just finished a below-average season.
That is a plausible story. Having a player who has “been there” can be beneficial when big plays are required. Miller is undoubtedly useful in the playoffs.
However, let’s examine his recent season performances. Miller recorded just eight sacks in 2019, down from double digits the previous five years. He recovered from an ankle ailment that kept him out of action for the entire year 2020 with a 9.5 in 2021 (let’s be polite and round it up to 10 for the sake of argument).
He has eight sacks in 2022, his first season with Buffalo, despite the season being lackluster. And despite playing in 12 games the previous season, he failed to earn a sack. Miller will now inform everyone in attendance that he shouldn’t have performed in 2023. He told si.com that he was injured the entire season and was still healing from an ACL tear sustained in 2022.
“It is absurd how people evaluate you based on your performance on the field, even though you shouldn’t have been playing after suffering an injury,” Miller remarked.
All OK, but… How else can a player be judged other what they see on the field? Is he arguing that the medical staff of the Bills let him play when they should have refused to?
“I could have easily sat out the entire last season, but I couldn’t do that to my teammates,” Miller went on. I didn’t want to forfeit any of my years because I felt like I was at the final stages of my profession. However, I shouldn’t have been outside at all. To be honest, it’s getting me a little upset since I feel like others are criticizing me for it.
Miller wants everyone to think that his teammates benefited from his 12-game sack-free season. He completed it on their behalf. Isn’t it better for a younger, healthier player to receive those stats if he had choose to sit out? Put differently, Miller is arguing that the team is better just because he is on the field, regardless of his output. Come on. within the NFL?
Miller’s strong sense of self-worth and lack of self-responsibility do not contribute to a team’s ability to win games. Yes, injured NFL players frequently “gut it out” and play. It’s a commendable quality, for the time being. Not for twelve matches.
Consider how the quarterback position would be affected by this. Assume Josh Allen had a comparable injury and completed 12 games with no touchdown throws. If Allen adopted Miller’s post-season persona, he would become “angry” with everyone who chastised him for his lackluster performance.
Miller made it about himself, even though he claimed to be a team player. You cannot be in two places at once. However, if you give it a shot, perhaps you could be of assistance to someone else.
Now consider the loot the Bills could acquire for Miller from the pirates. Observing the receiver room, Buffalo requires Allen to be better. In the absence of an immediate breakout from rookie Keon Coleman, the Bills don’t appear to have a strong quarterback.
Indeed, Dalton Kincaid’s tight-end position should make a difference. Buffalo, though, needs an additional wide receiver weapon. Miller might be the bait for a deal.
Having said that, the Bills are spared from dealing with Miller. Despite the fact that his last Pro Bowl season was in 2019, perhaps he still has one left. And maybe the Bills overcome their adversity if the old Miller turns up when it matters most throughout the season.
Dawson Knox, a TE, is also worth trading.
Three seasons prior, Knox’s impressive feats placed him on the NFL tight end map. He scored nine touchdowns and possibly more importantly caught 49 catches for 587 yards. With 517 yards and six scores in 2022, he had again another successful year. However, in his 12 games that year, he was unable to locate a key. part in the transgression.
Kincaid’s rise to prominence reduced Knox to a supporting position. However, some teams might decide that the value justifies a modest trade proposal. With Knox, the Bills have a problem due to his starting tight-end contract. As a backup, the five-year, $52 million contract is not that durable.
At 27, the former third-round selection might have two or three strong seasons left in him. This is especially true if he is able to secure a starting position once more.
LB Nicholas Morrow might be talking about a trade.
The Bills may trade for a different linebacker if they decide to hold onto Miller. Although he has been on four different teams in the past four seasons, Nicholas Morrow is entering his sixth season in the league.
Despite his extensive travels, e remains on the field. Each season, he has participated in at least 14 games; four times, he has participated in 16 or more. He recorded 116 tackles in 2022 while playing for the Bears. And he had 95 and three sacks with the Eagles the previous season.
This season, the Bills added a lot of linebackers in addition to the return of Matt Milano, Terrel Bernard, and Baylon Spector. Milano sustained a leg injury during the previous season, so Morrow filled in as insurance. After the season begins, Morrow may be more of a trade candidate, depending on how Milano recovers.