So why did the Broncos make such a large offer to linebacker Von Miller so far in advance of the July 15 deadline for signing him to a long-term deal? Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the team put the money on the table prematurely in order to get him into the fold for at least part of the offseason program.
The Broncos were concerned, per the source, that past instances of players showing up only for training camp could be problematic for Miller, so they made a sizable offer now in the hopes of securing his participation in at least some the offseason program. The offer therefore carried a deadline at the time it was made, the deadline passed without Miller accepting it, and the offer expired.
The offer wasn’t yanked in the same way that the Panthers yanked Josh Norman’s franchise tender. Miller knew when the offer was made that there was a period during which it would be available, and he didn’t accept it before that time came and went.
The question now becomes whether the Broncos will put the same number back on the table as July 15 approaches. It’s possible that they will offer less, since they’re losing the benefit of having Miller attend offseason workouts. If so, it will be hard to get Miller to take it, because once the bigger number is out of the bag it’s nearly impossible to put it back in.
There’s also, we’re told, a lot of validity to the PFT spitball theory that the Broncos removed the offer now in order to avoid being squeezed into paying even more later, as the deadline arrives.
The primary discrepancy between player and team arises from guarantees at signing. The Broncos have offered $39.8 million fully guaranteed. Miller wants more -- possibly the $55.38 million that he’d get going year-to-year for three years under the franchise tag.
The NFL continues to be a deadline-driven business, and there’s no reason to think that these two sides will fail to find a middle ground when frolicking in a ballpark of that magnitude. But it’s not done until it’s done, and in this case it likely won’t be done if at all until July 15 or close to it.