Super Bowl MVP Von Miller has been just about everywhere except home following Denver's Super Bowl victory in February, including a stint on *Dancing With The Stars.*
And for head coach Gary Kubiak, that's just fine.
"I'm a little different there, I think they deserve it," Kubiak said at the annual AFC Coaches Breakfast in Boca Raton, Florida, on Tuesday. "They work their tails off throughout the course of a season and our season was very long. You want guys to enjoy what they did and what took place. I'm proud of Von. I've said this to you all many times: I know Von, who he is, where he's come from. I've watched the leader he is, he does a really good job with the younger players on the team. We all know he likes to have fun but he knows when its time to go to work too, so I'm proud of him, I hope he's having a good time out there. I'll just make sure he knows that April 18 we look forward to seeing him."
That date could be an interesting one on Denver's calendar. The team is hanging their hats on the ability to get to a Super Bowl because of an exceptional defense. Miller is a huge part of that, but he's also currently under the franchise tag. As NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport has noted, both sides are committed to getting a long-term deal done before July 15, but it doesn't seem close to happening at the moment.
Would Miller hold out, as players sometimes do in the absence of long-term security?
"I mean I don't know that, obviously I expect everyone there," Kubiak said. "We'll see. But Von's always been a worker, he's always taken care of business."
Miller's deal will be record-setting this offseason. Currently, the team has less than $10 million in salary-cap space as they sort out the most difficult side of becoming Super Bowl champions. They already lost a prospective starting quarterback on the open market in Brock Osweiler, and are becoming top-heavy in terms of salary with Miller, Ryan Clady and Demaryius Thomas all commanding more than $10 million against the cap. Currently, Mark Sanchez at $4.5 million is the only starting-caliber quarterback on the roster. Fixing that issue will be expensive as well.
So, maybe it's as simple as Kubiak put it -- he loves seeing hard work pay off and doesn't mind Miller making the rounds this offseason. But maybe he's also enjoying the time between now and some inevitable contract madness.
