Miller was projected to be a second-round pick in the
2010 NFL draft had he passed on his senior season. He entered the
2011 NFL draft regarded as one of the best 3–4 outside linebackers available by NFL draft experts and scouts and was projected to be a top five draft pick. At the 2011
Senior Bowl, Miller was the Defensive MVP. Among linebackers at the 2011 NFL Combine, Miller ranked second in the 40-yard dash, third in the vertical jump, first in the broad jump, third in the 20-yard shuttle, tied for first in the three-cone drill, and first in the 60-yard shuttle. His 11.15-second 60-yard shuttle broke the combine linebacker record. At the Texas A&M Pro Day in March 2011, Miller ran a 4.49-second 40-yard dash. in 2011 In March 2011, Miller was selected to represent top-flight rookies in the NFL Labor Union talks. He was persuaded by former NFL running back
LaDainian Tomlinson to join the lawsuit.
NFL Network Analyst
Mike Mayock, who rated Miller as the second-best player in the draft, stated that Miller reminded him of a smaller version of
DeMarcus Ware. Miller's then-personal trainer, Dan Brandenburg, who also worked with first-round picks
Clay Matthews III and
Sean Weatherspoon, stated Miller is the best athlete of all three. He was the highest-selected linebacker since
LaVar Arrington went number two to the
Washington Redskins in
2000. He also became the Aggies' highest draft pick since
Quentin Coryatt, who was selected second overall in
1992. The selection of Miller surprised certain experts. Denver was switching from a
3–4 defense to a
4–3, a defense which seemed counterintuitive to Miller's strengths. Former Broncos quarterback
John Elway, who is also the executive vice president of the franchise, said Miller is "a type of guy that comes around every 10 years". On July 28, 2011, Miller signed his rookie contract. He wore number 58 in honor of
Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker Derrick Thomas. On September 12, 2011, in his first career play from scrimmage, Miller forced a fumble against the
Oakland Raiders. On September 18, 2011, he had his first sack on
Andy Dalton when the Broncos played the
Cincinnati Bengals. Miller was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week for his Week 11 performance against the
New York Jets. The Broncos made the playoffs and faced off against the
Pittsburgh Steelers in the
Wild Card Round. In his playoff debut, Miller had three solo tackles and one quarterback hit in the 29–23 overtime victory. In the
Divisional Round against the
New England Patriots, he had two quarterback hits in the 45–10 loss. Miller was selected to the
2012 Pro Bowl and was named
AP Defensive Rookie of the Year. Overall, in 907 snaps, he recorded 11.5 sacks, 19 quarterback hits and 29 quarterback hurries. He was fined three times during the season. He was ranked 52nd by his fellow players on the
NFL Top 100 Players of 2012.
2012 Miller got off to a quick start in his second season, registering 10 sacks in nine games. In this period, he recorded 30 quarterback hurries, more than he had during his entire 2011 campaign. Thanks to this tremendous start, he was considered an MVP candidate. On November 16, he was fined $21,000 for a hit on
Carolina Panthers quarterback
Cam Newton in week 10. He received his second career AFC Defensive Player of the Week honor after recording three sacks and two forced fumbles against the
San Diego Chargers the following week. For his efforts during November, he was awarded AFC Defensive Player of the Month. On December 26, 2012, he was announced the starting outside linebacker in the AFC division for the
2013 Pro Bowl. Miller finished the season third in sacks with , breaking a Denver Broncos record of 17 previously held by
Elvis Dumervil. He also capped off the 2012 season finishing second in voting for Defensive Player of the Year and being named first-team All-Pro. In the
Divisional Round of the playoffs, Miller had nine total tackles and two quarterback hits in the 38–35 2OT loss to the
Baltimore Ravens. In 2012, Miller teamed up with
Ubisoft, makers of the video game
The Hip Hop Dance Experience, to create his own sack celebration dance called the "DeSoto Shuffle" that was inspired by the video game. Each time he performed the dance during a game, Ubisoft made a charitable donation to Von's Vision, a foundation devoted to providing eye care and glasses to underprivileged youth. He was ranked 9th by his fellow players on the
NFL Top 100 Players of 2013.
2013 In July 2013, ESPN reported that Miller had been suspended four games for violating league policy, pending appeal. He
tweeted that he did "nothing wrong". In August 2013, he lost the appeal and was suspended for six games. The six-game suspension arose after the NFL learned that he attempted to cheat a drug test. He became eligible to play on October 20, 2013, when the Broncos played the
Indianapolis Colts. On November 24, in a loss to the Patriots, he recovered a
Stevan Ridley fumble and took it 60 yards for a touchdown. It was the second touchdown of his career. He did fairly well upon his return, but his season was ended prematurely when he suffered a torn
anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee on December 22, 2013, during a win on the road at the
Houston Texans. Without Miller, the Broncos reached
Super Bowl XLVIII, but lost 43–8 to the
Seattle Seahawks. He was ranked 76th by his fellow players on the
NFL Top 100 Players of 2014.
2014 After recovering from his ACL injury, Miller returned for his fourth season with the Broncos. Miller earned AFC Defensive Player of the Month for October. He recorded 14 sacks, 59 tackles, and a forced fumble. In the
Divisional Round of the playoffs against the Colts, he had six total tackles and one quarterback hit in the 24–13 loss. He earned a Pro Bowl nomination for his 2014 season. He was ranked 33rd by his fellow players on the
NFL Top 100 Players of 2015.
2015 On September 17, 2015, Miller became the third-fastest player in NFL history to reach 50 career sacks (58 games). The only ones to get there faster than him were
Reggie White (40 games) and
Derrick Thomas (54). Overall, in the 2015 season, Miller finished with 11 sacks, 35 total tackles, 32 quarterback hits, one pass defended, and four forced fumbles. In the
Divisional Round against the Steelers, he had two total tackles in the 23–16 victory. During the
AFC Championship against the Patriots, Miller sacked
Tom Brady times, breaking a Broncos single-game playoff record and also had an interception in the second quarter of the game. In
Super Bowl 50, facing the Panthers, who held the top-ranked offense, the Broncos won 24–10. In the first quarter, on a 3rd-and-10 from the 15-yard line, Miller knocked the ball out of Panthers quarterback
Cam Newton's hands while sacking him, and defensive end
Malik Jackson recovered it in the end zone for a Broncos touchdown, giving the team a 10–0 lead. This was the first fumble return touchdown in a Super Bowl since
Super Bowl XXVIII. With 4:51 left in regulation and the Broncos leading 16–10, Miller forced a second fumble from Newton to end the Panthers' potential game-winning drive, and the Broncos offense afterwards scored a touchdown to seal the victory. Miller recorded six tackles, a pass defended, sacks, two forced fumbles, and two quarterback hurries, and was named
Super Bowl MVP for his performance. His performance in Super Bowl 50 is widely regarded as one of the greatest individual defensive performances in Super Bowl history. Miller was named to his fourth Pro Bowl, earned his second first-team All-Pro, and was ranked 15th by his fellow players on the
NFL Top 100 Players of 2016.
2016 On March 1, 2016, the Broncos placed the exclusive
franchise tag on Miller. On July 15, Miller signed a 6-year deal worth $114.5 million featuring $70 million guaranteed with the Broncos. He became the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history, with the highest guaranteed salary. Miller earned AFC Defensive Player of the Week for week 2 against the Colts. He earned AFC Defensive Player of the Month for September. Miller finished the 2016 regular season with sacks and 24 quarterback hits. In the last four games of the season, Miller did not record a sack, which was the longest such stretch in his career. He was named to his fifth career and third consecutive
Pro Bowl, and his third first-team
All-Pro, and was ranked second by his fellow players on the
NFL Top 100 Players of 2017 as the highest ranked defensive player.
2017 On December 19, 2017, Miller was named to his sixth Pro Bowl. Miller was named the
2018 Pro Bowl defensive MVP. In the 2017 season, he recorded his fourth consecutive season with at least 10 sacks. He was ranked ninth by his fellow players on the
NFL Top 100 Players of 2018.
2018 In the Broncos' 2018 season opener against the Seahawks, Miller recorded three sacks and seven total tackles in the 27–24 victory. In week 11, Miller intercepted
Philip Rivers and returned it 42 yards to set up a touchdown, which helped ignite a 23–22 comeback win over the
Los Angeles Chargers, earning him AFC Defensive Player of the Week. During the 2018 season, Miller recorded his 100th career sack (including postseason sacks), becoming the fifth-fastest player in NFL history to do so. He was also selected to the
2019 Pro Bowl as a starting outside linebacker, which was his seventh career and fifth consecutive
Pro Bowl. He was ranked 10th by his fellow players on the
NFL Top 100 Players of 2019.
2019 at the
2020 Pro Bowl In week 4 against the
Jacksonville Jaguars, Miller sacked
Gardner Minshew twice in the 26–24 loss. Miller's second sack of the game was the 100th sack of his career. He was also selected to the 2020 Pro Bowl as a starting outside linebacker, which was his eighth career and sixth consecutive Pro Bowl. He was ranked 26th by his fellow players on the
NFL Top 100 Players of 2020. He was named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame All-Decade Team for the 2010s.
2020 During practice on September 8, 2020, Miller suffered what was called a "freak injury near the ankle", and season-ending surgery was feared to be required. An MRI the next day revealed that the injury was a dislocated peroneal tendon, and Miller was subsequently placed on injured reserve.
2021 In March 2021, the Broncos exercised the 2021 year option in Miller's contract. His contract, which entered its final year, guaranteed $7 million of his base salary of $17.5 million in 2021. Miller recorded sacks and 17 tackles in six games. He sprained his ankle against the
Cleveland Browns on October 21, 2021, which ended up being his final game as a Bronco.
Los Angeles Rams Miller was traded to the
Los Angeles Rams in exchange for second and third-round draft picks in the
2022 NFL draft on November 1, 2021. At the time of the trade, Miller was the longest-tenured Bronco, and the only remaining nonspecial-teams player from Denver's Super Bowl 50 roster. In an emotional interview following his trade, Miller held back tears, saying, "I love Broncos Country. When I said 'Broncos for life,' I meant that. It was an honor and a privilege to play here." Miller chose to wear number 40 for the Rams, his number at Texas A&M, with the familial blessing of Rams legend
Elroy Hirsch, since his number 58 was taken by
Justin Hollins. In week 10, Miller made his Rams debut and tallied three tackles in a 31–10 loss to the
San Francisco 49ers. In week 15, a 20–10 home win against
Seattle, Miller notched his first sack as a Ram against Seahawks quarterback
Russell Wilson. In week 16, Miller recorded a sack against
Kirk Cousins in a 30–23 road win over the
Minnesota Vikings. In week 17, Miller had his best game as a Ram by notching two sacks and five tackles, including the game-sealing sack on Ravens quarterback
Tyler Huntley in the 20–19 victory. Overall in the 2021 season, Miller recorded 50 tackles, sacks, one pass defended, and one forced fumble in 15 games played. In
Super Bowl LVI against the
Cincinnati Bengals, Miller recorded two sacks in the Rams' 23–20 victory. His multiple-sack performance makes him only the second player to ever have multiple Super Bowl games with multiple sacks. The other is
Justin Tuck of the
New York Giants. He also tied
Charles Haley's record for most career Super Bowl sacks at sacks, despite playing in three fewer Super Bowls than Haley. He was ranked 93rd by his fellow players on the
NFL Top 100 Players of 2022.
Buffalo Bills 2022 in 2022 On March 16, 2022, Miller signed with the
Buffalo Bills on a six-year, $120 million deal. In his debut with the team, he recorded two sacks, two quarterback hits, and three tackles for loss in a 31–10 Bills victory over his former team, the Rams in the
NFL Kickoff Game. During a Thanksgiving Day game in Detroit against the
Lions, Miller exited with an apparent knee injury. The next day, Miller was confirmed to be out for at least 2–4 weeks. He was placed on injured reserve on December 1, 2022. During exploratory surgery on his knee, Miller was found to have torn his ACL and would miss the remainder of the season. He had suffered the same injury in the same knee as a Bronco, nine years earlier in December 2013.
2023 Miller was placed on the reserve/
PUP list to start the 2023 season. He was activated on October 7, 2023. On November 30, 2023, he was accused of abusing his pregnant girlfriend. There was a warrant out for his arrest before he ultimately turned himself in and was released on $5,000 bond. Miller struggled after returning from his ACL injury and fell behind other Bills edge rushers on the depth chart during the season. In what was by far the least productive season of his career, Miller collected three combined tackles and zero sacks in twelve regular season games for Buffalo. He also added two combined tackles during the Bills' playoff run, which ended in the AFC
Divisional Round when the team lost to the
Kansas City Chiefs by a final score of 27–24.
2024 In October, Miller was given a four-game suspension without pay for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy. In the 2024 season, Miller finished with six sacks. In the Divisional Round against the Baltimore Ravens, Miller recovered a fumble forced by Damar Hamlin and returned it 39 yards to help set up the Bills on an eventual touchdown score in the 27–25 win. Miller was released on March 9, 2025.
Washington Commanders On July 21, 2025, Miller signed a one-year contract with the
Washington Commanders worth $6.1 million, with up to $10.5 million in incentives. Miller chose to wear jersey number 24 as a tribute and sign of respect for the late
Kobe Bryant and retired cornerback and Broncos teammate,
Champ Bailey (who originally started his NFL career in Washington). At the end of the 2025 season, he led the team with nine sacks. ==Career statistics==