ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — There were two ways for the Bills to respond to the bitter disappointment of falling two games shy of Super Bowl LVI.
One was to mourn not only the fact they lost against the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round but also the way they lost, with those fateful 13 seconds leading to countless hours of second-guessing. They did (are doing) that. Same with their fans.
The other response was to do what the Bills did Wednesday, soon after the official start of NFL free agency: Make a massive move that shook the entire league like a powerful earthquake.
Make no mistake. This team was already good, arguably with all of the pieces necessary to make a serious run at the Lombardi Trophy.
But after signing edge rusher Von Miller to a six-year contract Wednesday, they bought themselves the kind of insurance that figures to allow the rest of the championship-level components – most of which reside on offense – to finally complete the journey to the game with the top prize on the line.
It's a staggeringly expensive policy, a deal that reportedly guarantees Miller $51.5 million, including $45 million at signing. Those are the important financial numbers on which to focus because they provide the realistic view of the actual time the Bills anticipate having Miller contribute at the level that has allowed him to be regarded as one of the game’s very best at getting after the quarterback and a sure-fire Pro Football Hall of Fame member – the level that helped the Los Angeles Rams get to and win Super Bowl LVI.
Call it about two years.
And that’s perfectly fine, because the Bills made this acquisition with the full intention of getting to (and winning) the next Super Bowl. The one-year, $3.5-million contract to which the Bills signed free-agent tight end O.J. Howard, also on Wednesday, reinforces the as-all-in-as-you-can-get approach of general manager Brandon Beane.
But let’s be honest about how the Bills prioritized an offseason that began with plenty of regret. They were well aware of what held them back in January, beyond the special-teams blundering and questionable coaching strategy that hang over those final 13 seconds of regulation at Arrowhead Stadium like the darkest of clouds. It was the same thing that mainly kept them from winning the 2020 AFC Championship Game in KC.
The largest impediment to the Bills’ Super Bowl dreams has been a defense that could not close out games Josh Allen and one of the league’s most dynamic offenses had done everything possible to win.
Miller provides an excellent chance to change that. His 115.5 career sacks, 233 quarterback hits, 27 forced fumbles, and two Super Bowl rings say as much. The production he had after the Denver Broncos traded him to the Rams midway through the 2021 season, including four sacks in the playoffs after 9.5 in the regular season, say as much.
Yes, there’s room for second-guessing. The money is more than a little risky for a player who is nearing his 33rd birthday and who missed all of the 2020 campaign with a torn ankle tendon. It also must be noted that what he did with the Rams was helped, in no small part, by the presence of All-World defensive lineman Aaron Donald, who served as a constant magnet for multiple blockers.
The Bills don’t have a player of Donald’s caliber. No other team in the NFL does.
Still, based on what he has shown throughout his career and especially last season, Miller has more than enough talent and skill to be the kind of disruptive force that should allow the Bills’ defense to slam the door on opposing offenses more consistently. He’s a considerable upgrade from the combined efforts of the former veteran trio on which they relied up front: Jerry Hughes, Mario Addison and Efe Obada.
Miller also should help greatly elevate the play of the Bills’ top two picks in last year’s draft, ends Greg Rousseau and Boogie Basham, and the D-lineman they selected in the second round in 2020, A.J. Epenesa.
The NFL is a league where winners flourish and the rest perish. Beane understands that as well as anyone.
Which was why, when all of us were looking at the less-than-scintillating work he had done since Monday, the splash move Beane had said wouldn’t be happening came crashing on the shores of Lake Erie like a tsunami.
Nicely done, Pinocchio.