With his eight Pro Bowl appearances, Super Bowl 50 MVP honor and numerous other accolades, Von Miller is as much of a lock to reach the Pro Football Hall of Fame as any active player in the NFL. It cannot hurt to add to his résumé in the final stages of his career, though, and he now has an excellent opportunity to do so. Miller agreed to terms with the Dallas Cowboys on a one-year contract and will join an edge rusher group that has been in flux over the last calendar year.
It's a homecoming for the Texas native, who spent his childhood in the Dallas suburb of DeSoto and played his college football at Texas A&M. Having grown up a Cowboys fan, there might not be a more meaningful way for Miller to close his career than by shining as a key member of their defense. When he inevitably is inducted into the Hall of Fame, Miller will speak about his nine-and-a-half seasons with the Denver Broncos.
It was in the Mile High City that Miller quickly became a perennial All-Pro. His enshrinement speech may also touch on the time he served with the Los Angeles Rams, Buffalo Bills and Washington Commanders. But one has to imagine that the words he shares about the Cowboys will be as sincere as any, especially if the 2026 season goes according to plan.
If the Cowboys are to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2023, their defense must make strides. It was the worst unit in the NFL last year in scoring prevention, and it finished 31st in that regard the season prior. Miller alone will not generate a breakthrough, but as a potentially impactful addition to a unit with a number of fresh faces, he could contribute in a sizable way to a rebound campaign.
Dallas already boasts a playoff-caliber offense that will move the ball with the best of them after doing so in 2025. All it needs to truly contend for the NFC East crown is a defense that does not rank at the very bottom of the league. If he does, the time he spends with his hometown team will be quite the footnote on his Hall of Fame biography.
Only six teams posted a lower sack rate than the Cowboys in 2025, and none surrendered more yardage through the air. Signing the NFL's active sack leader is a sign that Jerry Jones is committed to fixing his team's greatest deficiency (one that he created, to be fair, by trading away Micah Parsons) -- even if Miller is well beyond the prime of his career. Jones and head coach Brian Schottenheimer shouldn't expect the double-digit sacks, stellar run defense and relentless pocket pressure that made Miller the greatest edge rusher of the 2010s.
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