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The Cowboys just added another veteran presence to a defense that badly needed one.
Dallas has agreed to terms with linebacker Von Miller, the team confirmed Sunday night. The deal is a one-year contract worth $5.5 million, according to NFL Network – though Miller could see that number climb to $7.5 million with incentives.
Miller’s 37 now. He’s been doing this for 14 seasons, and it all started in Denver, where he became one of the most feared pass rushers in the league. That run included a Super Bowl title after the 2015 season, capped off by an MVP performance against the Carolina Panthers. He wasn’t done there, either – Miller picked up a second ring with the Rams in 2021.
Last year he was in Washington, and honestly, he still had something left. Miller posted 26 tackles and nine sacks with the Commanders, his best sack total since that 2021 season with the Rams. He signed with Washington on a one-year deal last offseason after things ended poorly in Buffalo, then spent this entire summer as a free agent before Dallas came calling.
This isn’t some random landing spot for him, though.
Miller grew up in DeSoto, just outside Dallas, and played his college ball at Texas A&M before Denver took him second overall back in 2011. He won Defensive Rookie of the Year that season and has racked up eight Pro Bowl selections and three first-team All-Pro nods since. Coming home to play for the Cowboys is about as full-circle as it gets.
Is he still the same player who terrorized quarterbacks a decade ago? No, probably not. But Dallas isn’t asking him to be that guy – they just need him to help stabilize a pass rush that fell apart last season. The Cowboys managed just 35 sacks as a team in 2024, a number that ranked near the bottom of the league. Miller, meanwhile, still holds the title of the NFL’s active sacks leader with 138.5 for his career.
Whether he can still get there consistently at this stage remains the real question.
Dallas finished 7-9-1 last season and missed the playoffs entirely, marking a rough start for new head coach Brian Schottenheimer. They’ll open this season on Sept. 13 against the Giants, and if Miller’s presence means even a modest jump in that sack total, it could go a long way toward keeping Dallas competitive early on.
