The blockbuster deal for Von Miller kicks off the hot phase before the trade deadline. The Los Angeles Rams up the ante, Miller makes one more tackle and the Denver Broncos end one era to start a new one. There’s also one big loser.

Munich – When you can still emotionally touch, catch on the wrong foot and surprise a 32-year-old NFL warhorse after nearly 11 years in the league, a lot must have happened.

That’s what happened when Von Miller sat in the back of an SUV to talk to reporters about a day that might yet change his career in a major way.

Miller was searching for words about a trade he had no clue about Sunday night as he threw a Halloween party for friends and teammates.

Shed tears

Not even 24 hours later, he officially said goodbye to the Denver Broncos, shedding tears on his way out when he saw photos of the Super Bowl 50 win.

An emotional exit.

“It’s still hard to put into words, it’s tough,” Miller said, stressing how many fond memories he has of Denver and the Broncos. “When I said, ‘Broncos for life,’ I meant it – it will always be in my heart,” Miller said. “It was an honour and a privilege to play here, John Elway picked me and it changed my life.”

But Miller is 32, still a top pass rusher and will have time enough to reflect after his career ends. That’s just the way the business is – pause for a moment, tick off, move on.

That’s why the tears had only just dried when the Los Angeles Rams were already the topic of discussion – the team that put down a second- and a third-round pick for Miller in 2022.

“Great team – I’ve been a big fan of Aaron Donald for a long time. They have a great defense. I’m excited, always been a great teammate and will continue to be,” Miller promised.

Chances of making the Super Bowl

He knows, for all his sentimentality, he’s going to a 7-1 team, with a strong defence around Donald and Jalen Ramsey, with Super Bowl aspirations and every chance to be in the big game on February 13 – in their own stadium.

Miller is without question one of the winners of the deal. At the age of 32, he can once again attack a relevant team.

The Rams, who have been “all-in” for years, are raising the stakes once again. And in the 2022 draft, given a compensatory pick in round three, it’s almost enough to serve only on day three.

The Rams around GM Les Snead currently don’t care about the big talents and their education as well as the medium-term future, but instead focus everything on the here and now – including the risk of failure with all the quality of the big deals like Matthew Stafford in the spring or now Miller.

Financially, the move was smart nonetheless, as the Broncos are paying $9 million of the $9.7 million still outstanding for the rest of the season. 

Nice anecdote: Coach Sean McVay said as recently as last month that he didn’t expect “big deals like you might have seen in the past with us.” Adding at the time, “I would never say never, though.” Poker face.

And the Broncos?

Have admittedly given away the face of the franchise, the man of their last great success, the MVP of Super Bowl 50.

LA Rams Blockbuster Trade is for real. The Rams are getting OLB Von Miller from the Denver Broncos
(never doubt GM Les Snead)NFLTradeDeadline LARams RamsRumors VonMiller
(via @milroyigglesfan) https://t.co/xpAIUgsxYx pic.twitter.com/dUxfCd1bJ5

– Ramblin’ Fan (@RamblinFan) November 1, 2021

Transition with great fanfare

But this is at the same time a step into a new future, also symbolically. Because athletically, that much is clear with a 4-4 record of the inconsistent Broncos in 2021, it probably finally needs a clear cut. Especially at the quarterback position.

Broncos GM George Paton is ushering in the change with great fanfare, giving up a slowly ageing and frequently injured identification figure who would have become a free agent after the season and then probably been gone anyway. But then without value for money.

For the future, he is equipped with a first-round pick, two second-round picks and two third-round picks, among other things. And then probably also with a new coach. Because if there’s a loser in the deal, it’s Vic Fangio, who stands at a 16-24 record in his third year in Denver. Dismal. And the Broncos are now officially ticking off the current year, too.

The upheaval is coming. The fact that it will probably take place without the unsuccessful coach should no longer surprise anyone after the trade.