Denver Broncos Prepared To Trade Von Miller If Forced To
By Erik Lambert
Von Miller continues to dig in his heels on contract talks with the Denver Broncos, leading to rampant speculation about what his future with the team might be.
As it stands he’s under the franchise tag designation, which means the Broncos own his rights for the 2016 season. To date he has not signed that one-year tender and has made it clear he has no intention to. His end game is a long-term extension and he’s prepared to sit out the entire year if necessary in order to get the dollar amount he wants and feels he’s earned after another Pro Bowl season and winning Super Bowl MVP honors.
John Elway has reached out to the star linebacker recently, hoping to get the process rolling again with the July 15th deadline approaching. So far there have been no reports of progress, only dialogue. The Broncos are an organization that has become notorious for their stern stance on contracts. They avoid handing out big ones whenever and wherever possible. The problem is their leverage isn’t that great. Miller is in his prime and was largely the reason they won a third Lombardi trophy this past season.
His value is sky high and he knows if they aren’t willing to pay it, somebody else will. This puts them in a compromising position. Either they pay close to his dollar amount, something they don’t want to do or they call his bluff and dare him to sit out the year. It’s business negotiation at its absolute best. However, there is an undercurrent of belief that if Denver feels they won’t be able to come to any agreement with Miller, they won’t be afraid to trade him.
There’s no doubt they could get a healthy ransom of draft picks in return were such a thing to happen. Of course the likelihood is remote, but things happen in the NFL. Nobody ever thought the Carolina Panthers would let an All-Pro cornerback in Josh Norman walk this off-season, until they did. No player is untouchable in this league if the circumstances are right.
Odds say that the Denver Broncos are still able to get a deal done with Von Miller before the season begins, but don’t count on John Elway taking the passive approach if he’s backed into a corner.