Report: Von Miller says he won't play under the Franchise Tag in 2016

Von Miller posted on his Instagram earlier today that there's "No chance" he plays the 2016 season under the Franchise Tag.

"I love my Teammates, Coaches, and My Fans" but there is "No Chance" I play the 2016 season under the Franchise tag."

However, just yesterday a video showed Von Miller telling Chelsea Handler that he will not sit out any games in 2016, so what gives?

Clearly Von's agent must have had a talk with him. Saying publicly that you will not sit out games and are willing to play under the Franchise Tag puts the leverage right into John Elway's and the Broncos hands. If Von and his agent want to get what they feel Von deserves from the Broncos they needed to distance themselves as much as possible for that statement.

So 24 hours later, Von changes his tune and says he will now sit out the 2016 season if he's playing under the Franchise Tag(and references the teammates he mentioned in Handler's video).

Saw @Millerlite40 Instagram post on contract. then got email from PR firm "making sure'' I saw post. battle to win public opinion is on.

— Jeff Legwold (@Jeff_Legwold) June 16, 2016

Legwold is 100% correct, this is just another tactic to win over the public and hopefully, pressure the Broncos into giving Miller the contract he wants.

We have seen the same story play out in years prior. Just last year Dallas Cowboy's wide receiver Dez Bryant said he would sit out Camp and games if he didn't receive an extension. The same thing was said about Demaryius Thomas too. There was talk he would miss games too if he didn't get an extension. There's plenty more examples of star players who were slapped with the Franchise Tag who threatened to sit out games. In the end, most either played under the tag or received a new contract from their teams.

All this back and forth in the media is just games played by the teams, the agents, and the players. Us fans are the pawns in this game and most like to panic or freak out over these statements.

One more time: Von Miller will not sit out. Earning years, guys. Earning years.

— Pete Prisco (@PriscoCBS) June 16, 2016

I'm sure there is nothing I can say here that will calm down the people who are worried or upset about Von right now. He isn't being greedy, and he isn't sitting out games or missing any time in Training Camp.

Denver Broncos General Manager John Elway is a smart man. He will do what's best for the Broncos, and what's best for the Broncos is getting Von Miller signed long term at a friendly deal for the team. Von Miller is looking to as much as possible for him and eventually the two sides will find a happy middle ground.

Eventually, the deal will get done. Until then we have to sit back and watch the games played by both sides until they can come to an agreement on a contract on or around July 15th. This is probably only the beginning of these types of stories we'll see in the coming weeks.