Denver Bronco’s rookie linebacker limped slightly as he walked off the practice field on Friday with an hour left in practice. Head coach John Fox confirmed that Miller has a bruised quadriceps, and he’ll be evaluated day to day. A difficult start for Miller, but taking the easy road doesn’t seem to be his style.
Miller signed his rookie contract this week, just days after the end of the NFL lockout. Under the new rookie salary cap, Miller’s four-year, $21 million contract is a fraction of what he would have earned in last year’s draft. Last year’s number two overall pick, Ndamukong Suh of the Detroit Lions, signed a five-year deal worth $40 million guaranteed and up to $68 million overall, potentially three times what Miller’s contract is worth.
But Miller is unfazed. “You really can’t be possessive over something you didn’t have,” Miller said in an interview with the Associated Press. “You hear about what Suh made last year and all that stuff. I’ve been playing football all my life for free. Whatever it is, whatever my contract may be, I’m good with whatever.”
Miller prefers to look long term – at the big picture. “I plan on getting three, four, five contracts. I don’t plan on just getting this one,” Miller explained. “Whatever the future contracts may be, I’m happy with those, too. I just want to play football. I’m not really worried about all that other stuff.”
After Miller led the nation in sacks as a junior, he made some decisions that few in his position would have made. He elected to stay in school and play his senior season, passing on the early payday he could have taken in last year’s draft. He also elected to join in the lawsuit Brady vs. NFL, taking what he felt was the right position in spite of the fact that it could cost him millions of dollars in the long haul.
Joining the lawsuit put him alongside established NFL stars like Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Peyton Manning, but put him at odds with his future employer before he’d even been drafted. It was unclear what that might do to his draft stock, and to his eventual payday in the NFL, where just dropping a few places can cost a rookie millions of dollars in his first contract.
“All those guys have shown me a lot of love, a lot of respect for doing that,” Miller said. “I didn’t do it for myself, I did it for all the guys that came before me and all the guys coming after me. It was all for them.”
Miller shows an appreciation for the history of the game, choosing number 58 for his jersey in honor of his favorite player, the late Derrick Thomas. Miller has drawn a lot of comparisons to Thomas, who was one of the most feared pass rushers of all time, setting a record in 1990 with seven sacks in a single game.
Miller will be lining up on the other side of the formation from 2009 NFL sack leader Elvis Dumervil, which will pose a potent combination difficult for offenses to scheme against. Miller commented on the synergy with his characteristically modest humor, “He’s Batman, I’m Robin.” Although he then paused and added, “Robin had to save Batman a couple of times, too.”
The Broncos defense looks to improve under new head coach John Fox. In addition to Miller and a defense-heavy draft by Denver, Broncos linebacker Robert Ayers returns from an injury-riddled 2010 season and moves to defensive end in Fox’s 4-3 scheme, after playing outside linebacker in the 3-4 for the last two years. Ayers played defensive end in college.
When asked about where Ayers would fit in Miller’s superhero metaphor, he grasped for a new nickname that would strike fear into the hearts of their opponents, “We’ve got to get a whole new trio then. I just had the Batman and Robin thing… We could be the Legion of Doom.”
While moving from a hero to a villain doesn’t seem to fit well with Miller’s personality, the offenses he terrorizes next season might acknowledge the Legion of Doom handle.
