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Von Miller has somehow survived a massive Black Wednesday purge in Orchard Park.
On Wednesday, the Buffalo Bills released multiple players from their roster, including Pro Bowlers Mitch Morse, Tre'Davious White, and Jordan Poyer. However, the two-time Super Bowl champion, seven-time All-Pro, and eight-time Pro Bowl linebacker was not among them.
Instead, his contract has been renegotiated so that he will earn only $8.5 million in salary in 2024 ($7 million guaranteed). However, he can supplement it with $11.15 million in incentives to push that number up to nearly $20 million. Previously, he was set to make $17.145 million, with a $10.71-million guarantee but no incentives.
Given Miller's lack of contributions in the 2023-24 season, fans were angered at the move:
"Just fucking cut him he's literally worthless in every way," a user posted
Besides Von Miller, whom else are the Bills keeping amid roster cuts?
Besides Von Miller, four more players received positive news about their tenure in Buffalo.
Safety Taylor Rapp, who made the division-clinching interception against Tua Tagovailoa in the final week of the 2023-24 regular season, has agreed to a three-year, $14.5-million extension. With Jordan Poyer gone and Micah Hyde possibly to follow, he and Damar Hamlin could be elevated to starting roles.
Sticking to the secondary, the Bills also plan to restructure the contract of mid-2023 acquisition Rasul Douglas, potentially saving them 2.5 million in cap space. With Tre'Davious White gone, he is expected to join Christian Benford and Taron Johnson as a starter.
Guard David Edwards has also received a two-year extension, while punter Matt Haack has returned to compete with incumbent Sam Martin.
Bills GM confident that Von Miller will resolve legal issues
The news of Miller's contract renegotiation also comes amid a domestic abuse investigation involving him. Last December, he was arrested in his hometown of Dallas, Texas for allegedly assaulting his pregnant girlfriend.
He immediately denied the charges, and soon she sided with him as well. When asked for an update at the recently-concluded Draft combine, general manager Brandon Beane said he was optimistic about the pass rusher's innocence:
"We're pretty confident in what we know hence we didn't any kind of drastic moves at the time. We know what we know and unless we're presented with something different ... we don't see anything that would alter Von being back. We expect it to go away."
Beane also expressed hope that Miller would regain his form after his ACL injury and subsequent recovery.
