New Commander Miller can still roll out of bed and rush the passer at age 36

Newly signed edge rusher Von Miller completed just one training camp practice before the Commanders gifted him a veteran’s rest day on Thursday. The 36-year-old was glad for it.

Miller isn’t the same player who won Super Bowls with the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Rams following the 2015 and 2021 seasons. He used to be relentless in practice. Not anymore. 

“I love a vet day,” Miller confessed in his first media availability since joining the Commanders. “As you get older, you got to be based in reality too. And you can’t just wear yourself down out there. I try to push my ego and my pride to the side and just get away from comparisons and just run my own race.”

Commanders coach Dan Quinn and general manager Adam Peters said they know what they’re getting in Miller. The No. 2 pick in the 2011 draft isn’t an every-down player anymore. They don’t need him to be. 

“They’re going to let me rush. That’s what I do,” Miller said. “I can still roll out [of] bed at 36 years old with my house shoes on and still rush the passer. I can do that right when I wake up, fresh out of sleep.”

The Texas A&M product signed a one-year, $6 million deal with the Commanders on Monday, months after visiting the team’s practice facility for the first time. As they approached training camp, Peters and Quinn said it was time to bring in a future Hall of Famer to fill the hole left by Dante Fowler, who led the team in sacks last season. 

Miller isn’t the dominant player he once was, but his efficiency hasn’t dipped. The eight-time Pro Bowler ranked 10th in the NFL in Pro Football Focus’ pass-rush win percentage last season with the Buffalo Bills, recording six sacks despite averaging just 20.75 snaps per game. 

He knows that his role is situational. He likes it that way, comparing the responsibility to a sharpshooting guard in the NBA. 

“My position now is like when I come off the bench, I get in the game and I’ve got to shoot the three right now,” he said. “I’m not passing the ball, none of that. I’m getting the ball and I’m shooting the three right now. I’m shooting it, I’m shooting it, I’m shooting it until they pull me back out.”

With 129.5 career sacks, Miller has skills you can’t teach. His ability to explode off the line at the snap is hard to imitate.

“You have it or you don’t,” said Quinn. “You can see it. It’s not hard to evaluate somebody that’s got the ability to really jump off the spot. Not unlike a boxer, where you have to beat somebody to the punch. The initial quickness at that position is really needed.”

That speed doesn’t disappear, thanks in part to veteran rest days peppered throughout training camp and the regular season. The Commanders found a way to keep their elder statesmen — 35-year-old linebacker Bobby Wagner and 34-year-old tight end Zach Ertz — upright last season for a deep playoff run. 

“We just try to customize it,” Quinn said. “Even though it’s a big scale, when you’re in training camp, it’s actually a little easier to do than in season. He can be out; we can work this day. We map out the calendar.”

While his role on game days might be limited, Miller could have an outsized impact during practices. The Commanders overhauled their offensive line this offseason to protect superstar quarterback Jayden Daniels. 

Rookie Josh Conerly Jr., Washington’s first-round pick, can square off with the NFL’s active sack leader while he tries to earn the starting right tackle spot. 

“You just have to go and fight for it. It is a fun experience to go through,” Quinn said of Conerly. “He’s probably watched a lot of Von Miller, but he’s never blocked him, and blocking him in practice on the first day with no pads is different than third and 8 inside of two minutes with the game on the line.”

Washington’s newest pass rusher likely won’t earn a Pro Bowl nod or All-Pro selection in his 15th season. But he’s eager to help youngsters like Conerly in their first or second years. 

“I love being around the young guys,” Miller said. “That’s one of the things that, really selfishly, makes me feel good to be able to tell somebody some information that they wouldn’t normally have had before.”