Denver Broncos mandatory minicamp started Tuesday, with reigning Super Bowl MVP Von Miller being one of the noticeable players absent.
Denver has tendered a franchise tag offer to the two-time first-team All-Pro linebacker, but he is currently holding out for a larger, long-term contract. In April, the Broncos reportedly offered Miller a deal for $90 million over five years. Miller is asking $110 million over five years.
The good news is that the two sides now appear to be drawing closer than they were six weeks ago.
The Broncos were at the White House Monday visiting President Obama when Von Miller spoke to reporters afterward. Miller claims that “We’ve made real progress over the last couple of days. I’m very optimistic about the whole thing. I remain optimistic about everything.”
Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak appears to be chomping at the bit to get a deal done.
“I’m very anxious. I’d love to see him here before we call it a summer.”
Kubiak knows it’s not his call to make though.
“That’s not my end of the stick. He and John [Elway] are working on that, but I think things have been going very good, so it’d be nice to see him possibly before we get through here.”
Mike Luper, host of the Sports Guy Mike Show on Mile High Sports AM 1340 FM | 104.7, thinks the Broncos need to act fast and pay Miller to avoid a situation like they had with Demaryius Thomas in which an 11th-hour deal is struck and the player misses part of training camp.
“This is your MVP, this is a guy that without him, you don’t have a Super Bowl,” Luper says. “Pay this guy pay him now. Get this guy’s contract signed, get him his check and be done with it so that he can go into veteran OTA’s, which start today, with a clear head.”
His producer, Kyle Berry, has a different opinion.
“It’s one of the biggest deals in franchise history for the Broncos, so they’re going to take all the time that they need and I hope that the organization doesn’t panic as quickly as the fanbase is going to.”
The Broncos have a month and eight days to get the contract signed. Last season, it took the Broncos and Demaryius Thomas until the final two hours of the deadline to reach a long-term deal.
Listen to the whole discussion about Von Miller’s contract in the podcast below…
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