Does Von Miller want out of Denver?

If you missed it yesterday, Denver Broncos All-Pro linebacker/pass rusher Von Miller had some pretty revealing quotes after the teams 23-3 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. He told reporters that he was “at a loss for words” and repeatedly mentioned how he’s 30 years old and wants to win again.

“Tough loss. It’s hard because I really don’t even know what to say. I don’t know how we got to this point. I don’t know how we win like this, I really don’t. It’s tough being where we’re at. It’s tough being 30 years old and going out there with whatever issues I’m dealing with and still coming up so short. It’s tough playing nine years with Chris Harris and dealing with these last couple of years, especially with the standard that we have whenever we came into the league. We went to the playoffs for five years straight. I’m getting ahead of myself and talking about more than just the game but it’s tough. I’m at a loss for words.”

Von continued by once again repeating to reporters that he is at a “loss for words”

“I don’t know. We’ve tried everything. We’ve tried everything on and off the football field. We’ve tried all different coaches, all different players. I really don’t know what’s going on. If I did, I would be the first to execute whatever plan it is to make everything better. I’m just at a loss for words.”

Finally, Von was asked if he thought rookie quarterback Drew Lock is the future of this team. Von predictably answered “Drew is definitely our future” but then continued venting his frustrations about the team, losing, and just everything he wanted to get off his chest.

“We have got to sound like a broken record up here because we keep saying the same thing. We found our quarterback and we have a great one, but everybody else needs to step up. You can’t just lean on one guy, offense, defense or special teams. This is the pros, you cannot just lean on one guy to do it all or to save you, it has to be a collective effort by the foundation of the team. When you get stars, you know that stars are going to take you to the next level. We’ve got guys all around, but we have to come up with it. From me, I guess it just looks different from my end. I’m 30 years old and I’ve been playing in the league for nine years, I’m ready to hit the gear and go again. I’m ready to bring whatever we had in the past back. Two down years, three down years, four, we did that and now I’m trying to get back on it. I’m not just speaking for me, but whenever we put it all out there, we play hard and whenever we don’t, we come up short. It’s defeating and it’s more than just winning or losing, it just defeats my soul to go out there and play the way we play and lose the way you lose.’

These revealing quotes from Von who is usually a pretty positive individual led to some to speculate that the Broncos face of their Franchise may want out.

This led to 9NEWS Denver’s Mike Klis to speculate the same thoughts earlier today during his appearance on KOA 850 AM. When asked about Von’s quotes, Klis said that Von does this sort of thing a few times a year and when he does, he’s usually sending a message to someone. He says the question now is if he is telling the Broncos that he’s tired of losing and wants out so he can win now or a message towards the Broncos front office.

Klis was finally asked what his gut feeling was on the situation. He said he thinks Von ideally wants to stay and make things work but with the way roster looks and how Von might be at a career crossroads that he may want out.

You can listen to Klis’s entire interview below. The Von part of the interview begins at the 5:05 part if you want to skip to that part.

In my opinion, I could see Von wanting out and chasing another Super Bowl trophy in the final years of his career. He will be 31 years old in March and his decline is likely coming sooner rather than later. I don’t see why he wouldn’t want to join a contender instead of sticking it out on a team that is in the early stages of a rebuild. It also makes sense for the Broncos. Von would fetch them some good value on the trade market which they could use to rebuild their roster. Also, it would free up a good chunk of money to use on free agents to help improve the roster as well.

So theoretically, I could see this happening this upcoming offseason. It would suck to see Von leave the Broncos, but very rarely does a player finish his career with the team that drafted him. We saw Peyton Manning and DeMarcus Ware finish their Hall Of Fame careers in a Broncos uniform.

To throw another wrench into this, Von Miller’s contract has a potential out this upcoming offseason. Here is what Over The Cap has to say about Von’s final two years of his contract.

“The final two years of the contract are option seasons. Denver has until the final day of the prior League year to pick up each option season. If the options are exercised Miller will have $6 million and $7 million of his 2020 and 2021 salaries become guaranteed.”

I am far from a cap expert(Paging Ozark, paging Ozark) but there’s another out for Von Miller and the Broncos. I personally see it unlikely that the Broncos would just let Von walk without getting some in return via a trade, but this is another scenario to keep in mind.

For what it’s worth, Broncos Head Coach Vic Fangio chalked Von’s quotes as frustrations after a loss.

I file this quote under the “What else is he going to say file?”. He very well may be right, but he isn’t going to come right out and say Von is disgruntled and may want out or something like that. I feel like Von doesn’t say something like this without some purpose behind it, so personally, I believe there is something more here than Von venting his frustrations to the media.

Now I ask you Broncos Country. Do you believe Von wants out at the end of the season, is this a bunch of nothing, do you think the Broncos should shop him regardless or do you want to see Von retire as a member of the Broncos?