Jayden Daniels Drove Von Miller To Commanders; DE Discussed Deals Elsewhere

Von Miller‘s four years with Peyton Manning brought two Super Bowl berths and a championship; the Broncos secured four straight playoff byes during that period. The all-time pass-rushing great, however, suffered through Denver’s failed quests to replace the QB legend from 2016 until his 2021 departure. That period has impacted how Miller has approached free agency.

Denver traded Miller during the ’21 season, and his half-season with Matthew Stafford resulted in a Rams Super Bowl win. The Super Bowl 50 MVP then aligned with Josh Allen as a high-profile free agent in 2022. While Miller’s second ACL tear marred his Bills agreement, leading to a March release, he took the same approach to free agency this time around.

Going into an age-36 season, Miller said (via the Washington Post’s Nicki Jhabvala) he met with multiple teams. His Commanders summit took place in late June, and Jayden Daniels sat in on a lunch that included Dan Quinn and GM Adam Peters. Daniels’ presence sold Miller, who signed a one-year, $6.1MM deal (with $4.4MM in additional incentives) last week.

“It was the best team with the best quarterback,” Miller said, via Jhabvala. “That’s usually the math for me to be able to go and do what I do. You can’t leave Josh Allen and just go anywhere. You can’t leave your old girlfriend and just go with just anybody. Josh Allen was MVP of the league last year. I feel like Jayden Daniels has MVP potential as well.”

Washington has not seen a starting QB hold the reins for more than six seasons since Joe Theismann‘s gruesome leg injury; that was 40 years ago. Although Robert Griffin III submitted a strong rookie season, the 2012 Offensive Rookie of the Year flamed out after an ACL tear sustained in the playoffs. Kirk Cousins started for the bulk of four seasons, while Super Bowl XXIV MVP Mark Rypien is the closest thing the franchise has seen to a long-tenured signal-caller, operating in that capacity for the better part of six years. The Commanders saw Daniels submit a monster rookie-year showing, however, one that catapulted the franchise to its first NFC title game since the 1991 team’s championship rampage.

Daniels’ potential to be the organization’s elusive long-tenured franchise QB obviously matters to just about every party in the building, though it probably does not impact Miller’s thinking due to his age. Daniels dragging a moderately talented roster to the Super Bowl precipice as a rookie certainly grabbed the 15th-year veteran’s attention.

With Daniels on a rookie contract through at least 2026, the Commanders have a tremendous opportunity. Miller will step in as a key option opposite Dorance Armstrong this season, helping a Commanders team that was set to carry a glaring hole into training camp. Miller suffered through some lean years as the Broncos sputtered replacing Manning, and he continues to select teams with ascending QBs when free to do so.