Von Miller‘s past may be coming back to haunt him.
While the world anxiously waits to see whether or not the Denver Broncos will sign Miller to a long-term deal before the July 15 deadline, it’s hard not to wonder if some of the mistakes Miller made earlier in his career aren’t responsible for the hold up.
Miller entered the National Football League’s drug program when he tested positive for marijuana in 2011, his rookie year.
Following his first run in with the NFL’s drug program, Miller was arrested in August 2013 while trying to purchase a gun when a background check revealed an outstanding warrant for failing to appear in court on a 2012 driving charge.
Miller ran into some more trouble with the law in September 2013 when he was cited for speeding and driving under a suspended license and slapped with a six-game suspension for violating the league’s drug policy for the second time.
On Tuesday, Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post joined Gil Whiteley of Mile High Sports Radio 1340 AM | 104.7 FM to discuss whether or not Miller’s past is a possible reason for the hold up.
“He has got himself out of a bad track record and I think he deserves a lot of credit for that,” Jhabvala said. “But you can’t completely erase his history and I think that kind of a consideration in these negotiations.”
Jhabvala isn’t wrong. Since his last run in with the law and the NFL in September of 2013, Miller has been squeaky clean. He was released from the NFL’s drug program in August 2015 after passing every test in a two-year period.
Miller seems to have found his way onto the straight and narrow, and his play has remained stellar, but in the NFL, things can change in an instant.
“That’s always a concern for these players,” Jhabvala said. “Will your investment pan out?”
As far as Miller’s contract situation goes, Jhabvala believes a deal will get done.
“I think he’s gonna get the money that everyone believes he deserves.”
To hear the rest of Nicki and Gil’s conversation about Von Miller as well as the proposed special teams rule changes listen below…
https://soundcloud.com/milehighsports/6-21-16-nicki-jhabvala-gil-believe-vons-history-off-the-field-could-be-holding-up-negotiations
Catch Gil Whiteley every Monday through Friday from 11am-1pm on Mile High Sports AM 1340 or FM 104.7, or stream live any time for the best local coverage of Colorado sports from Denver’s biggest sports talk lineup.
