At 37 years old and with 138.5 career sacks, the future Hall of Famer is one of the most compelling unsigned players in the NFL — and any contender ignoring him is making a mistake
Von Miller is not done. Not even close. The future Hall of Fame pass rusher enters the spring of 2026 as one of the most intriguing names still available in NFL free agency — a 37-year-old with a résumé that most players spend entire careers trying to build and a competitive drive that continues to intensify rather than fade. After a quietly impressive 2025 campaign with the Washington Commanders that turned heads across the league, Miller finds himself at a crossroads that few veterans ever navigate successfully. He is walking straight through it anyway.
A 2025 season nobody saw coming
Expectations were modest when Miller suited up for Washington at 36 on a one-year deal. What the football world received instead was a forceful reminder of why he spent more than a decade terrorizing offensive linemen at the highest level. Miller recorded nine sacks across all 17 regular-season games — his highest single-season output since his dominant 2021 campaign with the Buffalo Bills — while playing roughly 40% of defensive snaps. The efficiency of his production as a rotational player was striking, and his nine sacks pushed his career total to 138.5, pulling him level with the legendary DeMarcus Ware for ninth on the all-time list. For a player many had quietly written off, it was a definitive statement.
Where he lands next
Miller has made clear that retirement is not part of his thinking. His first preference is a return to Washington, where he developed strong ties to head coach Dan Quinn and general manager Adam Peters during the 2025 season. The Commanders had not moved to bring him back as of this writing, leaving the door open for other suitors.
His second option carries a deeper emotional pull — a return to the Denver Broncos, the franchise where he spent the first decade of his career, won Super Bowl 50 MVP honors, earned seven All-Pro selections and established himself as the greatest pass rusher in franchise history. Miller has spoken openly about wanting to find closure with the organization that traded him away in 2021. Denver’s situation, however, is complicated. The Broncos led the entire NFL with a franchise-record 68 sacks in 2025, and with Nik Bonitto locked in long-term and Jonathon Cooper under contract through 2028, roster space is limited. The Chicago Bears, who finished 28th in sacks last season and are actively searching for edge-rush help, represent another realistic landing spot.
5 reasons teams should be calling
1. Elite efficiency as a rotational player. Miller generated nine sacks on just 420 snaps in 2025, a rate of production that most pass rushers playing full-time snaps cannot match.
2. One of the highest pass-rush IQs in the game. Fifteen NFL seasons have produced a depth of knowledge and technical mastery that no amount of athleticism alone can replicate.
3. Immediate mentorship value. Any roster with young edge rushers gains something beyond production when it adds a player of Miller’s experience and championship pedigree.
4. A motor that has only intensified with age. His work ethic and competitive drive have been consistent themes across every stop in his career, and 2025 offered no evidence of either diminishing.
5. He is 3.5 sacks from the top six all time. That milestone is not just a personal achievement — it is a marketing asset and a motivational engine that would energize any locker room.
What legacy looks like from here
Miller has accomplished nearly everything the NFL has to offer — two Super Bowl championships, eight Pro Bowl selections, a Super Bowl MVP and a 15-season career across three franchises. But for him, legacy is an active pursuit rather than a rearview-mirror reflection. Every sack in 2026 moves him further up a record book that already has his name etched into it permanently, and closer to a Canton induction that was already inevitable long before this offseason began.
At 37, Von Miller is not chasing one last payday. He is chasing history.