Heading into the offseason, the Los Angeles Rams made it known that their top priority was going to be re-signing Von Miller. After the instrumental role he played in their Super Bowl LVI victory, a return to L.A. made sense for both sides.
However, Miller walked away from the Rams when he was offered a six-year, $120 million contract — which acts closer to a three-year, $51 million contract — from the Buffalo Bills. The Bills had not even been rumored in connection with Miller, but a contract like that was hard to turn down for the two-time champion.
Miller revealed that his top choice entering free agency was staying with the Rams — and playing alongside Aaron Donald — but knew that there were certain teams that could make him change his mind, according to Alaina Getzenberg of ESPN:
“I saw what makes Aaron Donald Aaron Donald, and it was hard to walk away from that,” Miller said. “The only way you can walk away from that is to walk into something special. And what they’re doing here is extremely special. (The Bills are) gonna win a Super Bowl with or without me. They’ve built an amazing team.”
The Bills absolutely have the potential to win a Super Bowl in the next few seasons with Josh Allen at the helm. But even with that possibility, Miller said it was a tough decision to leave the Rams.
“I wasn’t expecting it to be like that,” Miller said. “I was expecting you win the Super Bowl, you got your offers out here, where do you want to go, pick, go back to the Rams. But it was tough man, it came down to the very end.”
He compared the process to something quite relatable.
“… I feel like I let (the Rams) down,” Miller said. “I feel like I’m breaking up with my girlfriend. That’s just me and the way I go about my business. But this was the one time in my life where I had to make a decision for me.”
Miller has been known throughout his Hall of Fame career for his loyalty. When he was traded from the Denver Broncos to the Rams, he made it known that he would have preferred to stay. But even with only half a season under his belt in L.A., he still felt a sense of loyalty bringing him back to the Rams.
Ultimately, the money and the team situation were too much to walk away from in Buffalo. When one of the best teams in the league calls and offers an extremely lucrative contract, absolutely no one can blame him for saying yes.
Matthew Stafford agrees to extension
The Rams announced that they agreed to terms on a four-year contract extension for Matthew Stafford. According to reports, Stafford’s extension will pay him about $160 million over that time, with $135 million guaranteed. It is also structured in a way that allows the Rams to preserve cap space and sign free agents.
