Would you trade Von Miller?

ESPN’s Adam Schefter confirmed on Sunday what KOA’s Benjamin Allbright has been saying for a while now - teams have approached the Denver Broncos about Emmanuel Sanders.

Then Allbright reported on Monday that the Houston Texans inquired about Chris Harris Jr.

At this point it’s obvious John Elway is listening to offers for parts of the roster. This has led to rampant speculation the team could, and should move their most valuable trade chip: Von Miller.

I wrote about this at length a few weeks ago before the Broncos broke out with wins over the Chargers and Titans, but I wanted to know:

What do you think?

Adam Malnati: There is no reason to trade one of the best players in the NFL unless you are receiving a ridiculous amount of draft capital in return. The fact is, rebuilding takes a certain foundation and Miller can be that foundational piece that Denver can build around. The defense has a solid core and trading Von only increases the amount of time the rebuild takes.

Taylor Kothe: No. I can understand the temptation, but this is the real NFL rather than Madden. Von Miller has been the face of the Denver Broncos for half a decade, and you don’t move on from “that guy” in your franchise and tear gaping holes in both team and fan morale just for the chance to gamble in the draft. The team needs a real QB, I agree. But that doesn’t mean we should pull a Dolphins and fire sale all of our best veterans. If you get rid of all three among Sanders, Harris Jr., and Miller, then you’ve neatly decapitated the veteran leadership in the locker room. And that’s just senseless.

Kevin Gillikin: Let’s just say that when Peyton and Ware left, this became Von’s team and the culture quickly spiralled out of control. Clearly that wasn’t all his fault but if they don’t trade him they sure as heck better find a QB and or veterans who can help set a good atmosphere. All that said, no, you don’t trade one of the greatest Broncos of all time unless you get something like five first rounders.

Kyle Berry: I like keeping Von due to the contract structure, and the idea of keeping Broncos brand in tact. Many have grown accustomed to Von Miller as the face of the Broncos franchise. Save face and trade another veteran before moving on from Von.

Ian St. Clair: It can’t be off the table. Listen to offers, and if you get one you can’t turn down, do it. I get the attachment and sentimentality to players and what they did in the past, but what good has Miller done the last three years? The Broncos have still sucked, and he’s getting older.

Laurie Lattimore-Volkmann: NO. NO. NO. Except...yes. I agree with Ian here that Elway should listen to offers, and I absolutely hate it. I am one of those with great sentimentality for players, and I love Von and want him to be our franchise guy to the end of his Hall-of-Fame career. He is the heart and soul of this defense and has been the quintessential “team man.” But will he continue to be that? Von deserves better than the Broncos have given him the last three years. Keeping him while building around him another two, maybe three years, is another two years of wasting his talent.

By not having enough talent throughout the offense or defense for Von to put his athletic prowess to use has been a damn near travesty. I have been among the most outspoken critics of the #TradeVon crowd - and I truly hope no team could offer Broncos enough for it to happen (or that Elway would be willing to eat the nearly $20 million in dead money or that Von would want to go) because I will be so upset to see him on another team.

But if it’s better for the Broncos and better for Von in the long run, I will wish him well and hope he breaks all the sacks records he deserves (but I’ll still secretly hope the universe conspires against any kind of trade).

Joe Rowles: I wrote a few weeks ago that moving Von Miller at the deadline would carry almost $20 million in dead cap and from a purely financial aspect, it’s not the kind of move teams make with productive players:

“So even if you’re willing and able to dehumanize Miller enough to look at his value through a cost/return lens, it seems unlikely he’ll play in another uniform in 2019. If you stop to consider what he means to the Broncos beyond his on-field production/trade value, a potential Miller trade doesn’t just look impossible, but irresponsible.

“There’s no doubt about it, Von Miller is the face of the Broncos. He has been one of the two best players on every single roster since at least 2014, and arguably before that as well. It’s no coincidence that the Broncos defense moved from a bottom three unit toward league average upon his arrival in 2011 and has been a top 10 unit since in every other year he played a full season until now.

“Over the course of their 60 year history, the Broncos have won three championships and been to eight others. You don’t contend for that many Lombardis without some All-Time Greats. On defense alone, there’s been Steve Atwater, Champ Bailey, Karl Mecklenberg, Tom Jackson, Randy Gradishar. I could go on: Wright, Smith, Pryce, Wilson. Von Miller stands out among them.”