The 2025 offseason will be filled with important decisions for the Buffalo Bills that will steer the franchise going forward.
The team has 16 free agents to be mindful of this offseason, but one of the team’s most important decisions will be regarding a player already under contract.
Veteran and likely Hall of Fame edge rusher Von Miller’s future in Buffalo is largely up in the air.
His age (36 in March), recent injury history (2022 ACL and meniscus tear), and contract (owed $17.5M in 2025) make him a cut candidate for Bills general manager Brandon Beane.
Instead of paying a base salary of $17.5 million in 2025, the Bills could cut Miller and save about $8.5 million on the salary cap.
Miller addressed his future with the Bills following the team’s loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC championship game:
“However long my key card works in this building, I’m gonna keep coming up in here and I’m going to keep coming in and trying to make [a Super Bowl] happen. I want to be here. I plan on being a Buffalo Bill for sure.”
Over his three years in Buffalo, Miller has appeared in 36 games and started in 11. He has 14 sacks over that time, with eight coming in 2022, zero in 2023 (recovering from knee surgery), and six in 2024.
His 2024 season got off to a rough start as he was hit with a suspension that sidelined him for four games early in the year. However, he played well in the second half of 2024.
He led the entire NFL in quarterback pressure rate after Week 13 (25.5%). He was playing only limited snaps, but he was playing at an elite level when he was on the field.
Now, the Bills are forced to make a decision on Miller, who was signed in 2022 in hopes of getting Buffalo “over the hump” and playing in the Super Bowl. With a couple more injuries and a few more years under Miller’s belt, his $17.5 million salary in 2025 doesn’t look great from a cap perspective.
If the Bills and Miller part ways, his replacement on the edge could come via a trade. Rumors of the Bills trading for a defensive end have been swirling since the season’s end, especially since Myles Garrett requested a trade from the Cleveland Browns. This left Bills fans wondering about the possibilities of Garrett in Buffalo, and even left tackle Dion Dawkins showed his best recruiting efforts to land the star edge rusher.
If Beane and the Bills are looking for a splash on the defensive line this off-season, Garrett, Maxx Crosby, and Trey Hendrickson are names to watch.
The Bills’ front office has plenty to work on regarding roster construction, but the decision with Miller seems like it would need to be one of the first dominos to fall.
