Bills Von Miller 'happy to have all that behind me' after ban.


ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – Buffalo Bills defensive end Von Miller returned to practice Wednesday after having his four-game suspension lifted by commissioner Roger Goodell on Monday for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy.

'I'm in a very good place. I'm just glad all that stuff is behind me,'' said Miller, who missed 5 to 8 weeks without pay. “Since I've been here with the Buffalo Bills, it's been either injury or PUP list or suspension, and I'm just happy that for the first time in two and a half years I have everything in place and I'm able to just focus on football.” Am.

“…There's still nine games left, and at some point something will be taken away from you – whether it's football stuff, NFL stuff, league stuff, like what happened in the last month or what [an] Injury – you have a new appreciation for the game.”

Miller turned himself in at the Glen Heights (Texas) Police Department on November 30 on an arrest warrant for third-degree felony battery on a pregnant woman. The charge of assaulting his pregnant girlfriend in suburban Dallas came during the Bills' bye week in 2023. He was booked into the DeSoto Tri-City Jail that afternoon before being released on $5,000 bond.

He has denied the allegations and said they are “100% false”. The Dallas County District Attorney's Office confirmed to ESPN last month that the case was closed. No charges were ever filed in the case. The NFL conducted a separate investigation.

Miller did not say Wednesday whether he considered appealing the suspension.

“I'm just trying to bury it and put it behind me,” Miller, 35, said. “…Got a 6-2 team. Josh Allen is playing like an MVP. That's our counterpart. He brings up the points. I'm able to pass the rush and do all the things that I do. So my That's where the focus is.”

The Bills were granted a temporary roster exemption for this week as Miller has returned from his suspension, and the team has an open spot on the 53-man roster waiting for him. He has been around the team facility for the past two weeks because the collective bargaining agreement allows players to remain in the building during the second half of the suspension period.

“From what I have seen in the last few weeks, [being in the facility] “The players get a chance to be back with their teammates, number one from a mental health standpoint,” coach Sean McDermott said. “As soon as he comes out of suspension.”

Goodell said in March that he had considered placing Miller on the commissioner's exempt list, but he did not feel it was appropriate at the time based on all the facts. The Commissioner's List exempts players from counting against the active roster for reasons determined by the Commissioner.

Miller has played in 27 regular season games and two playoff games with the Bills since signing a six-year deal originally worth $120 million in March 2022. He suffered a major right ACL injury on Thanksgiving 2022, and he said during training camp this year that he “probably shouldn't have played” in 2023 because of the injury. He restructured his contract this off-season, taking a pay cut and saving the Bills $8.645 million in cap space.

“It would be nice to have Vaughn back,” McDermott said. “He's been out four weeks and not sure what he'll bring, right, in terms of staying polished, staying polished. But I'm sure he's working hard enough to get back. It's good to have him back. will be.

“But again, it's never about one person, especially when you play up front. It's about the sum of the parts and it's about four guys running as one. And that will be important for us because “We will move forward as a holistic defense.”

The Bills went 3-1 while Miller was suspended and took a 3½-game lead in the AFC East ahead of Sunday's home game against the Miami Dolphins. Miller had three sacks in the first four games of the season.


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