Denver Broncos fans have mostly given up on the possibility of disgruntled quarterbacks like Aaron Rodgers or Deshaun Watson landing in the Mile High City.
It’s no different for eight-time Pro Bowler Von Miller, who’s in Las Vegas this weekend to host his fifth annual pass-rush summit.
“It’s crazy to think about, you know, getting an Aaron Rodgers,” Miller said on Saturday in Vegas.
“You start thinking, ‘Oh, we’re going to get Aaron Rodgers or Deshaun Watson.’ But hold on, wait a minute, we’ve got Drew Lock.
Indeed, it’s a slippery slope and one that any prominent veteran has to navigate with tact in the public arena, lest a stray, unconsidered comment gets blown out of proportion and turned into a locker room-dividing scandal.
Without risking reading too far into Miller’s comment there, he’s obviously very leery of saying anything publicly that compromises his, or the locker room’s, relationship with the beleaguered Lock.
2020 rolled around, along with a raging pandemic that completely turned the NFL calendar on its head and robbed young players and new coaches of countless, precious reps.
Bouye to Albert Okwuegbunam to Bryce Callahan — and even Lock himself — the injury bug absolutely ravaged the Broncos, further throwing Lock’s Year 2 bid to lay claim to the starting position off its axis.
Prioritizing competition at the QB position, Paton executed a trade the day before the NFL draft that landed one of his former wards in Denver.
While Miller’s remarks make it plain that he realizes Lock’s job security could change, it’s telling to hear him speak with the assumption that the former Missouri star is the starting quarterback in Denver.
Meanwhile, Rodgers’ standoff with the Green Bay Packers continues with the most recent development coming in the form of team president Mark Murphy saying some oddball, passive-aggressive stuff about the reigning MVP.
For now, Miller will focus on the task at hand of leading his pass-rush summit and return to Denver as the team holds its mandatory minicamp on Tuesday.