Report: Broncos send Von Miller to Super Bowl contender in blockbuster trade

The Denver Broncos are finalizing a trade to send eight-time Pro Bowl linebacker Von Miller to the Los Angeles Rams, according to ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter.

The Rams are sending the Broncos a second- and third-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft in exchange for Miller, according to Schefter.

With the trade, the Rams continue to bolster their star-studded defense, which now includes the likes of seven-time Pro Bowl selection Aaron Donald, four-time Pro Bowl selection Jalen Ramsey and Miller.

Miller, 32, signed a six-year, $114.5 million contract with the Broncos in 2016, which at the time made him the highest-paid defensive player in the NFL. The 2021 season is Miller’s last season under contract, as he will become an unrestricted free agent in 2022. According to Schefter, as part of the trade, the Broncos will pay $9 million of Miller’s remaining $9.7 million salary due in 2021.

Miller was apart of a dominant Broncos defense that helped capture Super Bowl 50, and in the process, Miller was named Super Bowl MVP for his efforts. In the 2015 postseason, Miller had 2.5 sacks and an interception off Tom Brady, as the Broncos defeated the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship game, then he added 2.5 sacks and two forced fumbles against Cam Newton in the Super Bowl, good for MVP honors.

Miller has been named to eight Pro Bowl teams, and he’s been named to seven All-Pro teams, including three first team selections and four second team selections. He is one of the select few to have captured the Butkus Award, given annually to the nation’s top linebacker, at both the college and professional level. A 2011 first-round draft pick, Miller has spent his whole career with the Broncos, and he was a unanimous selection for the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team.

In 2021, he has tallied 4.5 sacks along with 19 total tackles (ten solo stops), while adding seven tackles for a loss and nine quarterback hits. Over the course of Miller’s ten-year NFL career, he’s amassed 509 total tackles (390 solo tackles), 110.5 sacks, 142 tackles for a loss, 225 quarterback hits, 26 forced fumbles and nine fumble recoveries.

The Broncos made the trade just one day before the NFL’s Nov. 2 trade deadline, which is expected to bring about a few moves similar to Miller’s in which the player, in a contract year, is dealt to a new destination.

“Mixed feelings, for sure,” Joby Branion, Miller’s agent, said on Twitter. “Its true, Von Miller is about to become a Ram.”

A product of Texas A&M, the veteran pass rusher, who was twice named to the All-Big 12 first team and twice named a first team All-American, was selected with the second overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft.