'30-what?': In return to field, Von Miller aims to prove he can still thrive

[Miles]

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — On Sunday afternoon, more than 1,700 miles from UCHealth Training Center, Phil Mickelson redefined what's possible for athletes of a certain age.


With a two-shot victory at the PGA Championship in Kiawah Island, South Carolina, the nearly 51-year-old player became the oldest golfer to win a major championship.


As Broncos outside linebacker Von Miller returns from last season's season-ending ankle injury, Head Coach Vic Fangio believes Mickelson serves as proof that Miller can still thrive as a 32-year-old pass-rusher. While it may be more physically demanding to take on an offensive tackle than to swing a driver, there remain transferable lessons.


"It's going to be up to him to put in the time and effort in the next few months to get his body right," Fangio said Monday after the team's first practice of organized team activities. "As we saw yesterday in golf, Mickelson proved you can play great, but the one thing he did mention was he's had to work harder and be more committed to his game to achieve that. I think that applies to football players, too — even somebody as talented as Von. You need to do more to maintain that level of play once you start getting into your 30s like he is and playing the position he is. There's no doubt in mind that he can do it. He's just got to do it himself."


Fangio, who said Miller shows "no ill effects" from last year's injury, said he wouldn't put a ceiling on what's possible for Miller and believes he can still play the elite football that he played "four, five, six years ago." Five years ago, of course, Miller lifted a trophy of his own as Super Bowl 50 MVP.


Nine months ago, before Miller suffered his injury during the first practice of the regular season, the three-time first-team All-Pro seemed poised for a strong bounce-back season after posting just eight sacks in 2019. He dominated the Broncos' offensive tackles in training camp and showed a heightened level of focus and drive during the offseason.


Miller said the effort he invested last year was not a "one-year thing" and that he's created a "new version" of himself. That mindset and the success he enjoyed during training camp last season has reassured Miller that he can still succeed in Year 11.


"I'm still running around here beating everybody's ass, so I feel like, 30-what?" Miller said. "Until I see otherwise, I'm going to keep doing it. I'm going to keep going."


Miller wasn't sure he would get that chance last year. He said Monday that following the injury, he wondered if that practice was his last as a Denver Bronco. By season's end, Miller wasn't yet ready to be "the type of Von I know I could've been," and he remained on IR through the end of the season.


As new General Manager George Paton weighed whether to pick up Miller's option, though, the pass-rusher said he believed things would work out for him to remain in Denver.


"I always had an internal faith that I would be here," Miller said. "I said a long time ago that I want to be a Bronco for life. I always felt like that even though the business and all of this stuff. I always felt like this was home and this is where I was going to end up. I'm an optimistic guy. You guys all know this, I'm an optimistic guy. I always feel like we can win the Super Bowl and be the best defense, this and that. I always feel like that, and that same optimism, I brought into this offseason. I always felt like I was going to be a Denver Bronco. I always felt I was going to come back."


And now, he's healthy enough to play the game that means more to him than ever.


"I just want to play football," Miller said. "I didn't get to do it last year. It means a lot more. Football's also meant so much to me, and it just has a different feel to it, whether that's a prove-it [year] or whatever you guys call it. Every time I walk out here I feel like I've got to prove something. It's not to you guys or the GMs or anybody like that. It's to myself. I love this game, I want to be a great. [The way people] feel about Kobe [Bryant] and [Michael] Jordan and the type of guys they were in their sport, I want to do the same thing for my guys and my teammates. The time is now. I've been working hard, I've been grinding. I've been doing everything I possibly can do off the field to be a great player on the field. [When] all of this stuff starts coming together, it'll be great."