It's been five years since Washington ranked in the top 10 in sacks, but maybe 2025 will change that. They've signed Von Miller to bolster their pass rush. Miller is 36 years old, but it seems like he's still got something left in the tank.
Last year Miller was a situational pass rusher for the Bills, not playing more than half the snaps in any game. But that usage kept him fresh; he recorded 6 sacks in 13 contests. It was the 11th time in 13 NFL seasons that he's had at least that many; double-digits in seven of those.
Miller has labored for three teams: 9 full seasons with Denver, 1 with the Rams, and 3 with Buffalo (though injury and suspension limited him to just 11-13 games in each of those). In eight of those seasons, he was part of a top-10 pass rush; top-5 in five of those.
| MILLER SACK TOTALS, 2011-PRESENT | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Von | Team | Rk |
| 2011 | 11.5 | 41 | 10th |
| 2012 | 18.5 | 52 | 1st |
| 2013 | 5.0 | 41 | 13th |
| 2014 | 14.0 | 41 | 9th |
| 2015 | 11.0 | 52 | 1st |
| 2016 | 13.5 | 42 | 3rd |
| 2017 | 10.0 | 33 | 22nd |
| 2018 | 14.5 | 44 | 8th |
| 2019 | 8.0 | 40 | 17th |
| 2021 | 9.5 | 50 | 3rd |
| 2022 | 8.0 | 40 | 14th |
| 2023 | 0.0 | 54 | 4th |
| 2024 | 6.0 | 39 | 18th |
Time takes its toll on all of us. Three of Miller's team's lesser seasons have come in his last five years, with mediocre finishes with Denver once and Buffalo twice (though again, he missed 4-6 games in each of those Buffalo years). But he also had 9.5 for the Super Bowl champion Rams team in 2021, which finished 3rd in sacks.
As to whether Miller can hit a noteworthy sack total, I used the search tools at pro-football-reference.com to check it out. In the last 10 years, there have been 13 pass rushers aged 35 or older to record at least 6 sacks in a season; Miller last year is one of those players. But most likely Washington will be using him sparingly, hoping his presence helps other players -- Dorance Armstrong, Frankie Luvu, Javon Kinlaw, each of whom had 4.5-8.0 sacks a year ago -- get to the quarterback.
Washington has a franchise quarterback on a rookie contract and made it to the NFC Championship last year. They're going for it, and I have some interest in their (largely veteran) defense this season. They finished 11th in sacks a year ago, and Miller might still be the player to help them make that move into the top 10.
--Andy Richardson