Teams with returning head coaches can begin their offseason workouts on Monday. And if you ask Broncos cornerback Aqib Talib, Von Miller is going to be there.
"I think that he's going to be there on (April) 18th," Talib told ESPN.com. "The last time I talked to him, he was going to be on his way to Denver on the 18th with everybody else."
He added: "I don't think Von's mad about that franchise tag at all. He's confident in himself, that a good deal will happen one way or the other, whether it's this year or whether it's next year."
The last two Broncos hit with the tag -- Ryan Clady and Demaryius Thomas -- opted out of offseason workouts. Thomas ended up with a five-year, $70 million deal right at the deadline in July.
It's a strange situation for a player. On one hand, you are earning nearly 10 percent of your team's salary cap, second only to Thomas' $15.2 million cap hit next season and $30.3 million worth of dead money. Everyone else on the roster is envious of that game check.
But on the other, players like Miller know the guarantees in a franchise deal are less than a third of the guaranteed money they would get on a long-term deal. Injuries loom large. Those who survive a season on the franchise tag often breathe a sigh of relief.
So it goes for Miller, who is still a contestant on Dancing With The Stars, another potential roadblock during Denver's offseason program.
Based on Talib's comments, Miller seems like a team-first player; someone who understands that his role is more important than that of the quarterback at this point. Arriving on Monday would go a long way toward proving it.
