'Dream within a dream' for pass rusher Von Miller to join his hometown Dallas Cowboys

OXNARD, Calif. (AP) — Growing up in the suburbs of Dallas, Von Miller's parents were an embodiment of the “love ‘em or hate ’em” reaction the Cowboys create in seemingly every NFL fan.

One of his formative memories was seeing his father celebrating the Cowboys' success watching a game on TV. His mother, however, is not a fan.

"This should be the first year where everybody’s unified on one team, so it’s pretty cool to have everybody in blue,” Miller said at an introductory news conference after signing a one-year contract that could be worth up to $7.5 million with his hometown team on Tuesday, with the 37-year-old standout pass rusher hoping to return them to their Super Bowl-winning heights of his childhood.

Miller had previous conversations about joining the Cowboys, including after claiming his second Lombardi Trophy with the Los Angeles Rams following the 2021 season. He ended up signing with the Buffalo Bills, where he spent three years, before joining the Washington Commanders last season. This time around, everything lined up.

"It's like that movie, 'Inception,' like a dream within a dream. I always wanted to play in the National Football League, and then to play for the Dallas Cowboys. We're going deep with it, year 16,” Miller said.

It helped that Miller has ties to the Cowboys' new defensive coaching staff. Pass rush consultant B.T. Jordan is his longtime trainer. Miller also worked alongside coordinator Christian Parker in Denver and line coach Marcus Dixon in Los Angeles.

Add in his relationships with several Cowboys players , including outside linebackers Rashan Gary and Donovan Ezeiruaku, and even crossing paths with star quarterback Dak Prescott in Las Vegas last month, Miller felt everything was coming together to finally fulfill his aspirations of wearing the famous “star” helmet .

“For it to happen, it just shows you that you can really manifest everything. And to be here with the Dallas Cowboys back in my hometown, it's really cool,” he said.

Miller, the NFL's active sack leader, is coming off one of his better seasons in recent memory. He had nine sacks last season with a carefully managed workload for the Commanders, and Miller is confident he can “walk into eight of those” playing a similar number of snaps for the Cowboys.

“Like, am I gonna go out here and just beat somebody to death for 60 plays a game? Probably not, but it's still in there. And I can still win a lot of these reps, especially when it's crunch time," he said.

Not everything is finalized for Miller. He is still trying to figure out what number he will wear for the Cowboys. Miller and fullback Hunter Luepke both had No. 40 on during a joint practice with the New Orleans Saints on Tuesday.

“I'm not gonna get caught up in the number, but I did make some offers to him already that I feel like he can't really come off of those. I think a lifetime supply of chicken will do it," said Miller, who owns and operates a poultry ranch. “A number would be fine, but I think the most important thing is to win a lot of these games, play in big games, and the number would just be an afterthought.”

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