The Los Angeles Rams define what an aggressive front office approach looks like in the NFL. Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that the Denver Broncos are trading All-Pro linebacker Von Miller to the Rams for a bag of Ruffles and a 12-pack of Mountain Dew. The Rams care nothing about draft picks, and they care even less about second-day draft picks, which they’re sending to Denver for Miller.
The Rams already have a pretty darn good defense with a 7-1 record halfway through the season. Miller may not be what he once was, but the Rams don’t need him to come in and be the leader of this defense. He just needs to contribute with a few big sacks in big moments down the stretch and in the postseason. If Miller helps the Rams win a Super Bowl this year, then draft picks be damned; this trade was worth it.
Miller leaves a Hall of Fame legacy behind in Denver, being the franchise leader in regular-season sacks (110.5) and currently ranks 23rd all-time among NFL sack leaders. Von also ranks third among active players with 27 forced fumbles since entering the league in 2011. Oh, plus Miller was also MVP of Super Bowl 50. I know leaving Denver is tough for him, but he did all he could to help that team win over the years.
Sean McVay and the Rams just keep stacking the deck in their favor and making it clear that anything less than a Super Bowl victory will be a letdown. Their defense was already stacked with stars, All-Pros, and Pro Bowlers at every level. Miller only adds to the riches in L.A. But with all the star power the Rams have collected (Matt Stafford in the offseason) recently, all excuses are now thrown out the window. It shouldn’t matter which player misses a game or two here or there. If this team is mostly healthy, they need to win the NFC this year.
The biggest worry for the Rams is on the offensive side of the ball and their lack of depth at the running back position. Even so, this team is talented enough to overcome that, and now you add a motivated Miller coming off the edge of that defense. The Rams should be scary in the second half of the season, and it’s still early enough that they could still make a run at winning their division and the No. 1 seed in the conference.
They were already an NFC favorite, and this move can only help to strengthen that spot. Miller says he might be ready to play Sunday when the Rams face the Titans at home, so I’m interested to see how quickly they can get him implemented. This Rams defense could be an even scarier matchup for offenses throughout the rest of the season. They can outscore you and get big stops defensively in big spots. That sounds like a championship formula if I’ve ever heard one.
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