Rapoport doubts Von Miller will hit free agent market
Feb 25, 2021, 4:55 PM | Updated: Mar 1, 2021, 1:08 pm
While NFL Insider Ian Rapoport thinks the Denver Broncos won’t pick up the club option on Von Miller’s contract this offseason, he said he believes the prolific pass rusher won’t see the free agent market either.
Joining the “Pat McAfee Show” on Thursday, Rapoport said he believes Miller would have a lot of suitors as a free agent but the situation won’t ever get to that point.
“If he’s free, he’s going to have a very good market,” Rapoport said. “I will say at this point, I doubt that he’s free.”
Instead of exercising Miller’s club option before the start of the NFL league year on March 17, Rapoport said he thinks the “two sides get together and make it make sense.”
“He wants to finish his career in Denver. He’s awesome. (He) missed last year with an injury. They have cap space,” Rapoport said. “It’s hard to get better by letting one of your best players walk, so I would imagine there’ll be some sort of compromise to smooth out his cap hit and make it make sense.”
The club option guarantees Miller $7 million of his $18 million salary in 2021 — the final year of his contract.
Earlier this week, 9News Broncos Insider Mike Klis told “Orlando & Sandy” one of the options on the table would be a restructured deal that would keep Miller in orange and blue past 2021 and save the Broncos in terms of salary cap space.
For instance, Denver could take Miller’s $18 million salary in 2021 and turn it into $30 million over three seasons at a $10 million per year clip.
“That’s what I think George Paton and the Broncos will try to do. Now, Von has to accept that,” Klis said.
Whether Miller accepts a restructured deal is a different story, as the All-Pro bristled at the idea in a tense interview with “Stokley & Zach” in October.
