There are under 30 hours until the NFL Trade Deadline and the biggest trade that will occur over the last two days and possibly the entire regular season may have just happened. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Denver Broncos are trading Von Miller to the Los Angeles Rams for two second-day 2022 draft picks.
Blockbuster: Broncos are finalizing a trade to send eight-time Pro Bowl linebacker Von Miller to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for two second-day 2022 draft picks, league sources tell ESPN.
Miller is now saying his goodbyes to his friends in the Broncos’ training facility. pic.twitter.com/wJjlDOQkPU
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 1, 2021
Shefter then reported and confirmed that the compensation Denver will be receiving Los Angeles’ 2022 second and third-round picks. Los Angeles will still receive a compensatory pick in the third round because of the Brad Holmes hire. But after that, they will not have a pick until the fifth round and then they have both Miami’s and their own seventh-round pick. Los Angeles has already been one of the top teams in the NFC and the entire league up to this point. They have a 7-1 record and have only lost to the Arizona Cardinals who are leading the NFC West.
It seems unreal that Los Angeles could afford to add a talent like Miller to their roster that is paying players like Matthew Stafford, Aaron Donald, Jalen Ramsey, Andrew Whitworth, Leonard Floyd, Robert Woods, and Cooper Kupp like the premier players they are. Miller joins a Rams defense that already has two of the elite defensive stars in the entire league who are arguably the best players at their respective positions in Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey.
This trade signals that the Denver Broncos feel that they may lose Von Miller after the season who is slated to hit unrestricted free agency. The Broncos are 4-4 but may already be looking ahead to next season.
Denver took Von Miller with the second overall pick in 2011. Since then Miller has become one of the greatest players in franchise history and is regarded as a future Hall of Famer. Miller is an eight-time Pro Bowler, three-time First-Team All-Pro, four-time Second-Team All-Pro. He also won Defensive Rookie of the Yera in 2011 and Super Bowl MVP in 2015 when the Broncos won Super Bowl 50. Miller has 110.5 which is 23rd all-time and first among active players. He has been the face and franchise centerpiece of the Denver Broncos especially since Peyton Manning‘s retirement in 2015.
At 32 years old Miller appears to have slowed down a bit from how he played in his prime. If Denver let Miller hit free agency he may have signed elsewhere for an opportunity to contribute to a potential Super Bowl roster.
In seven games this season Miller has 4.5 sacks, 19 combined tackles (10 solo tackles), and seven tackles for loss.
Los Angeles Rams general manager Les Snead is no stranger to making blockbuster deals. He had made multiple of the more notable trades the league has had over the last decade. These include the following deals:
2015
- St. Louis Rams traded Sam Bradford and a 2015 fifth-round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles for Nick Foles, 2015 fourth-round pick, and 2016 second-round pick
2016
- Los Angeles Rams traded 2016 first-round pick (15th overall), two 2016 second-round picks, 2016 third-round pick, 2017 first-round pick, and 2017 third-round pick to the Tennessee Titans for 2016 first-round pick (1st overall), 2016 fourth-round pick, and 2016 sixth-round pick
2017
- Los Angeles Rams trade E.J. Gaines and 2018 second-round pick for Sammy Watkins and 2018 sixth-round pick
2018
- Los Angeles Rams trade 2018 fourth-round pick and 2019 second-round pick for Marcus Peters and a sixth-round pick
- Los Angeles Rams trade Alec Ogletree and 2019 seventh-round pick to New York Giants for 2018 fourth-round pick and 2018 sixth-round pick
- Los Angeles Rams trade 2018 fifth-round pick to Denver Broncos for Aqib Talib
- Los Angeles Rams trade Robert Quinn and 2018 sixth-round pick for 2018 fourth-round pick and 2018 sixth-round pick
- Los Angeles Rams trade 2018 first-round pick (23rd overall) to New England Patriots for Brandin Cooks
- Los Angeles Rams trade Tavon Austin to Dallas Cowboys for 2018 sixth-round pick
- Los Angeles Rams trade 2019 third-round pick and 2020 fifth-round pick to Jacksonville Jaguars for Dante Fowler Jr.
2019
- Los Angeles Rams trade 2021 fifth-round pick to Cleveland Browns for Austin Corbett
- Los Angeles Rams trade Marcus Peters to Baltimore Ravens for Kenny Young and a fifth-round pick
- Los Angeles Rams trade 2020 first-round pick, 2021 first-round pick, and 2021 fourth-round pick to Jacksonville Jaguars for Jalen Ramsey
- Los Angeles Rams trade Aqib Talib and 2020 fifth-round pick to Miami Dolphins for 2022 seventh-round pick
2020
- Los Angeles Rams trade Brandin Cooks and 2022 fourth-round pick to Houston Texans for 2020 second-round pick
2021
- Los Angeles Rams trade Jared Goff, 2021 third-round pick, 2022 first-round pick, and 2022 first-round pick to Detriot Lions for Matthew Stafford
- Los Angeles Rams trade Michael Brockers to Detriot Lions for 2023 seventh-round pick
- Los Angeles Rams trade conditional 2022 fifth-round pick and 2022 sixth-round pick (could become a 2022 fourth-round pick) to New England Patriots for Sony Michel
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