Von Miller expects to play in 2026, pitches Broncos reunion

Von Miller is not sounding like a player ready to fade quietly into a final tour. The 37-year-old pass rusher said Wednesday that he is “for sure” going to play for somebody in the 2026 season, and he has already lobbied Broncos coach Sean Payton about bringing him back to Denver.

That pitch comes after a productive year in Washington, where Miller signed a one-year deal worth $6.1 million with up to $10.5 million in incentives and finished the 2025 season with a team-high nine sacks. His career total sits at 138.5 sacks, a number that still carries weight for a player who has spent more than a decade defining games with speed off the edge and a knack for making disruptive plays in pressure moments.

Denver is the obvious emotional destination. Miller built the core of his fame with the Broncos, winning Super Bowl 50 MVP honors in 2016 and establishing himself as one of the franchise’s defining defensive stars. The Broncos also know him from the other side of the aisle now: they traded him to the Los Angeles Rams on Nov. 1, 2021, for second- and third-round picks, and Miller later won another Super Bowl in Los Angeles. That history gives any reunion a strong sentimental charge, but it does not automatically make it a clean roster fit.

The football question is harder. Denver already has a strong pass-rush group with Nik Bonitto, Jonathon Cooper and Zach Allen, and earlier reporting said the Broncos had already told Miller they were full at edge rusher when he explored a reunion before signing with Washington. Even so, Bonitto said on May 14 that everybody in the organization would welcome a Miller return, a sign that the locker room would likely embrace the idea even if the depth chart is crowded.

Miller’s comments also underline how veteran edge rushers can still command attention late in their careers if they can still affect the passer. He is not framing 2026 as a farewell lap. He is presenting himself as an unsigned free agent who still believes he can help a contender, and Denver now has to decide whether the value of a familiar face, a proven disruptor and a legacy reunion outweighs the efficiency of standing pat.