Broncos' Best Remaining Offseason Gamble Might Be Von Miller
Broncos' Best Remaining Offseason Gamble Might Be Von Miller
The further we get into the NFL summer, the more a Von Miller reunion makes sense for the Denver Broncos. Chad Jensen|
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Denver BroncosVon Miller has expressed a strong desire to reunite with the Denver Broncos. The 37-year-old veteran began voicing it on his podcast as soon as the Washington Commanders' 2025 season ended, and he has continued to campaign for a return to Denver throughout the offseason.
When the Super Bowl 50 MVP first started his push, it didn't seem very feasible because of the Broncos' depth at outside linebacker. They were six deep, with an All-Pro at the top of the depth chart — Nik Bonitto — a tenured starter — Jonathon Cooper — and a handful of excellent rotational edge defenders, including several recent draft picks.
Shifting OLB Landscape
Fast forward to July, though, and the lay of the outside linebacker land in Denver has changed. Cooper was arrested twice inside of one week last month, charged with domestic violence and criminal mischief.
The Broncos took a "we're investigating and allowing the league to do its thing" tone on Cooper's first arrest. After the second one, though, that tone shifted to one of public disappointment. Who can blame the team?
The week following Cooper's second arrest, the Broncos held their mandatory minicamp, and they excused him from the proceedings. Clearly, the Broncos wanted to create some distance between the team and Cooper, and that could continue until his criminal proceedings are resolved.
Whether Cooper pleads guilty, is convicted, or is exonerated, the NFL is expected to hand down a suspension for violating the Personal Conduct Policy. The second arrest almost guaranteed NFL discipline will be forthcoming, which means the Broncos have to starting preparing for life without Cooper, even if he's not released.
How Miller Could Fit
This is where Miller could come back into the picture in a meaningful way. It might be a bit of a gamble to throw in with a veteran entering his 16th NFL season, but when it comes to Miller and the Broncos, magical things tend to unfold when they're united.
Miller earned eight Pro Bowl nods and seven All-Pro selections as a Bronco. He helped Denver win the division five straight years, and was the tip of the spear in Super Bowl 50.
Miller can still get the job done as an edge defender. He totaled nine sacks and 36 quarterback pressures last year with the Commanders, despite only starting three games.
Relative to Cooper's performance in 2025, I wouldn't view Miller as a step-down in any way, if he were to be signed by the Broncos and plugged into the starting lineup. Cooper faded bigly down the stretch last season, posting just one sack in the Broncos' final eight games, and his run defense slipped, too, especially his edge discipline.
The Youth Issue
The Broncos have another potential starter waiting in the wings in Jonah Elliss, who enters Year 3 as a 2024 third-round pick. Elliss could be relied upon to start in Cooper's place, but the drawback with Elliss is the availability question, as he had some injury issues last season, missing four games.
Behind Elliss are Dondrea Tillman and 2025 fourth-rounder Que Robinson, the latter of whom had one heck of a 2026 offseason. Tillman isn't exactly chopped liver, having produced nine sacks for the Broncos as a rotational player over the past two seasons.
Bringing up the rear at outside linebacker is another former third-round pick, Drew Sanders. Then there are a couple of recent undrafted players, but the Broncos are giving Sanders one more opportunity to catch on and make a mark as he enters a contract year. Injuries wiped out his second and third NFL seasons, so this is his last chance to make something happen for himself before his contract expires.
What Elliss, Tillman, Robinson, and Sanders all bring to the table that Miller does not — besides youth — is special teams acumen. At his age, Miller isn't trying to suddenly start a third-phase career. He's never played special teams, and he never will.
Because of that, it would really only make sense to sign Miller if the Broncos were going to start him opposite Bonitto. The other caveat to Miller returning would be... Cooper being released.
That could happen when training camp gets a little closer, regardless of the Miller question. The shocking nature of Cooper's alleged misdeeds might be more than the Broncos are willing to suffer from a PR perspective.
Plus, as a bona fide Super Bowl contender, the Broncos don't need the off-the-field distraction that Cooper's presence might be. That's why the team excused him from minicamp, if we're being honest.
The Takeaway
So, here's how the dominoes would have to fall if Miller were to reunite with the Broncos:
- Cooper is released
- Miller signs to be a starter
- Elliss, Tillman, Robinson, and Sanders offer third-phase support
Again, it might be a bit of a gamble, and much would depend on the money Miller is looking for, but I could see it working out to the Broncos' benefit. Some have argued that a Miller return would somehow stunt the growth of the younger players, but I don't buy that.
Miller's return would take the pressure off all the young guys to suddenly be thrust into a starting role; it would provide the defense with a reliable, experienced edge presence on one side, and it might sprinkle some additional Mile High Magic on the Broncos' bid to put a fourth Lombardi Trophy in the case at team headquarters.
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CHAD JENSENChad Jensen is the Publisher of Denver Broncos On SI, the Founder of Mile High Huddle, and creator of the popular Mile High Huddle Podcast. Chad has been on the Denver Broncos beat since 2012 and is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America.
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Sydney Sweeney Struts in Micro Shorts in New 4th of July American Eagle Campaign After Controversy
Sydney Sweeney is back and better than ever in a new American Eagle ad.
Sweeney, 28, stunned in an all-denim look while posing on the beach for a 4th of July campaign, which launched on Wednesday, July 1. The Euphoria star rocked a denim Bow-Front Vest, which retails for $54.95, featuring adjustable halter straps, a plunging neckline and straps that tie in the front.
Sweeney paired the look with low-rise Micro Shorts ($49.95), which were complete with a dark wash and distressed finish.
For glam, the Anyone But You star stunned with dewy skin, sun-kissed cheeks, long lashes and lined, pink lips. Her blonde bob was parted down the middle and styled in beachy waves.
In one pic, the It Girl closed her eyes and beamed for the camera while sitting in the sand. She also looked over her shoulder in another pic, with her hands in the back pockets of her cheeky bottoms.
Sweeney also looked her best in a promotional video. In the clip, she danced on the beach while lighting sparklers. “Syd for Short,” a message across the screen read.
This isn’t the first time Sweeney has posed for American Eagle. In July 2025, she went under fire for modeling a denim jacket and pants with the double entendre, “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans.”
The statement quickly sparked debate about race and beauty standards for the double play on “genes.”
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Related: Sydney Sweeney Stuns in 2nd American Eagle Campaign Following Controversy
Sydney Sweeney has teamed up with American Eagle again for a sexy summer campaign following her previously controversial ad with the company. Sweeney, 28, posed for the brand’s “Syd for Short: American Eagle Jean Shorts” ad, which launched on Wednesday, April 15. In the campaign, the Euphoria actress looked her best in a pair of […]American Eagle responded to the backlash in August 2025, writing via Instagram, “‘Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans’ is and always was about the jeans. Her jeans. Her story. We’ll continue to celebrate how everyone wears their AE jeans with confidence, their way. Great jeans look good on everyone.”
At the time, a source exclusively told Us Weekly that “Sydney thinks this whole thing has been blown out of proportion.”
The insider added, “She’s focusing her energy on work, including being back on set with her Euphoria family.” (The Euphoria season 3 finale aired on May 31.)
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Trump's Annual Earnings Skyrocketed to $2.2 Billion in 2025 ... for Some Reason
July 1, 2026
Making money is hard. Just ask Donald Trump. Back in 2022, House Democrats released years of the then-former and now-current president’s tax returns, which showed that Trump the entrepreneur was significantly less successful than The Art of the Deal would have you believe. They painted a picture of a floundering businessman who was doing his best to dodge taxes and scrape together income, something Trump mastered throughout his long career.
But now, it appears that Trump has finally found an industry that works: open corruption, crypto scams, and nepotistic crony capitalism that siphons off wealth, rakes in gifts, and feeds them into his personal coffers. He just needed to become president of the United States.
Trump revealed in financial disclosures this week that he has made $2.2 billion in 2025, up from $622 million in 2024, the year before he returned to the White House. The astronomical sum includes a diverse portfolio of investments and businesses, but is mostly comprised of one brazen cryptocurrency scam: World Liberty Financial, a crypto company that offers the $TRUMP memecoin. Trump made a staggering $1.4 billion on crypto last year, fueled both by getting his supporters to buy into $TRUMP and a massive private deal in which a UAE-linked investment firm paid almost $500 million for a 49 percent stake in World Liberty Financial.
But let’s break down what that means in simple terms. One: Trump sells a memecoin to his followers, using his personal social media channels to boost it. This is basically the same scam Trump has been running for years. If you’ve been on his mailing lists since 2016, you’ve been inundated with ads for physical Trump coins, digital trading cards, and all sorts of commemorative and allegedly collectible memorabilia. Crypto is essentially the same grift, with the added flavor that Trump can pass it off as an “investment” opportunity, something that may pay dividends for the everyday Americans who are duped into buying it. Trump has also taken a host of actions benefiting the crypto industry — and thus, his and his family’s finances — since retaking office, while touting the industry publicly.
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Trump claims that he isn’t “involved” in the running of these businesses, which is about as flimsy of an excuse as you can get. “We have funds that run that money,” he told reporters on Wednesday.
Q: Your financial disclosure shows you had a very lucrative year last year. What message does this send to average Americans?
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 1, 2026
TRUMP: Well, you know, I don't get involved. We have funds that run my money
Q: But you are benefitting. We're talking billions of dollars
TRUMP: Well… pic.twitter.com/y0CVPXc4NB
In reality, Trump and his family are the only ones getting rich. But it’s the other half of that windfall that’s even more concerning. While garden-variety crypto-grift is bad, the dark money investment in a Trump-owned company by a firm that is linked to the government of the UAE suggests that foreign influence could be playing a large role in the growth of Trump’s personal fortune. In other words, he’s basically getting a payout from the government of another nation.
This isn’t the first time Trump has engaged in open corruption with members of a foreign nation. His comments about his financial disclosure on Wednesday came on the tarmac in front of his new private plane, also known as Air Force One, which was paid for and gifted to him by the Qatari government, and retrofitted with hundreds of millions of taxpayer money.
“You want a Pulitzer Prize? A picture of the plane.” Trump joked.
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Trump took his first flight on the Qatari-gifted jet shortly after. “Frankly, we couldn’t build a plane like this because we wouldn’t be willing to spend the kind of money necessary,” Trump said. “They spent top dollars.”
The plane is valued at roughly $400 million. The government will not retain ownership of the plan after Trump leaves office. It will instead be gifted to his presidential library.
