Mark Gaughan: Like it or not, Bills will need Von Miller down the stretch (2025)

Like it or not, the Buffalo Bills need Von Miller.

On the surface, Miller’s suspension by the NFL on Tuesday is fully justified. He deserves to sit out under the terms of the league’s personal conduct policy if the allegations he assaulted his then-pregnant girlfriend in November are true. The league investigated and handed out its punishment despite the fact no charges have been filed.

“It’s certainly an unfortunate situation, and we respect the decision made by the league, and really it’s out of our control,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said Wednesday. “And what we need to focus on is it’s an opportunity for someone on our football team to step up.”

From a football perspective, the Bills’ pass rush does not look championship caliber without Miller. He’s the closer they will need late in the season and in the playoffs.

The Bills have a promising No. 2 edge rusher in Greg Rousseau. I’m bullish on Rousseau. He’s a top-tier defensive end against the run. He keeps getting better against the pass. He’s off to a good start this season with both power and speed rushes. I think he’s going to be a high-end No. 2 pass rusher. He doesn’t have the production to back up that claim just yet. But Rousseau is just 24. I think he’ll get there, and I think the Bills will want to sign him to an extension next summer.

Is Rousseau a No. 1 edge rusher on a Super Bowl winner? I don’t think so. A.J. Epenesa, who has been starting ahead of Miller anyway, now is the second-best pass rusher on the team. Good thing the Bills re-signed Epenesa in March, just before free agency started. Epenesa is a solid player, a pretty good pass rusher. But he’s a lower-end No. 2 or a high-end No. 3.

While Miller is sitting out, it will mean more opportunities for Casey Toohill and rookie Javon Solomon.

Could the Bills’ defense get past Kansas City and Baltimore in back-to-back playoff games with Rousseau and Epenesa as their lead edge rushers? I don’t think so. That’s why they need Miller as a closer if they’re going to make a playoff run.

• Some fans might be inclined to say “be done with Miller” given the details of the assault compliant to Dallas police. (His girlfriend subsequently told a Dallas TV station the incident was “blown way out of context.”)

It’s an understandable reaction for fans. It’s also not how the NFL works.

The NFL is about winning. Citizenship is a secondary consideration. The Bills put a priority on high-character players under McDermott. He is fanatically focused on building a team-oriented makeup in his locker room, more so than any Bills coach since Marv Levy, at the least.

But it’s hard to push for a Super Bowl while holding every roster spot to the highest ethical standard when the competition doesn’t.

Cincinnati has embraced players with character red flags in the draft for the better part of the past two decades. The Bengals have fielded mostly winning teams and got no complaints from its customers when it made the Super Bowl three years ago.

Then there’s the Kansas City Chiefs, the current gold standard for winning, with two straight Super Bowl titles and three in the last five years. The Chiefs have taken plenty of risks with players who have had abuse incidents against women. Tyreek Hill fell to the fifth round in the draft because of a guilty plea in college for domestic violence. Former star pass rusher Frank Clark was suspended in college for a home-invasion incident. The Chiefs let star back Kareem Hunt play most of the 2018 season despite the fact they knew about an ugly altercation with a woman. Current Chiefs star receiver Rashee Rice has been playing despite driving 119 mph this offseason and causing a five-car collision with multiple injuries.

Does it make it right? No. There are some hard ethical lines NFL teams won’t cross. But when it’s gray, talent often wins over citizenship.

• So far, Bills owner Terry Pegula has paid $44.12 million in cash to Miller over the past two-plus years. That’s $34.82 million for the past two years and $8.3 million so far for this year, factoring in the checks Miller will miss the next four weeks.

Miller already has earned a $1 million bonus for reaching two sacks on the season, according to the sports financial website Spotrac.com. He gets $2.5 million for four sacks, $4 million for six sacks, $6 million for eight sacks and $8.6 million if he gets to 10 sacks (those aren’t cumulative bonuses).

Miller has 11 sacks in 27 games with the Bills. So far, he hasn’t been worth the investment, due largely to the knee injury that made him ineffective last season.

He’s due to count $23.8 million against the salary cap in 2025 but the Bills can cut ties with him easily after this season. If they designate him a post-June 1 roster cut next spring, they will save $14.8 million on the salary cap for 2025. His cap hit for 2025 would be $6.3 million for 2025 and $9 million for 2026.

Will the Miller deal go down as a bust?

It’s all about the postseason. General manager Brandon Beane signed him to get the team over the playoff hump. If Miller can close out a playoff win — or two — it was worth the trouble.