Von Miller makes a bold statement about his Buffalo Bills colleagues’ edge rusher

Von Miller knows a capable edge rusher when he sees one.

With 124.5 sacks in his career and a Super Bowl MVP award, the Buffalo Bills defensive end is more than qualified to comment on such topics.

When he joined the Bills in 2022, Miller quickly recognized the potential in the game of 2021 first-round draft pick Greg Rousseau. Now he’s seeing that translate into results on the field.

Rousseau sacked Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray three times in Buffalo’s 34-28 win in Week 1 and was subsequently named AFC Defensive Player of the Week. The early-season breakout followed an impressive training camp this summer.

“It’s starting to sprout. Two years later, it’s starting to sprout,” Miller said Tuesday. “He’s taken steps. Last year, he had a lot of good runs. Even if they didn’t result in a sack, he had a lot of good runs.”

In 2023, Rousseau made 5.0 sacks in 16 games and recorded a career-high 18 quarterback hits. He totaled 12 tackles for loss.

“I always knew he was one of the best defensive ends in the league. Like I said after the game, there are only about five of them and he’s one of them. To go out there and prove that in Week 1, to get three sacks right away. I think that’s a huge confidence booster,” Miller said.

Miller is finally looking like his old self again after tearing his ACL in 2022 and is working well with the 24-year-old Rousseau. The two-time Super Bowl winner was responsible for the Bills’ fourth sack on Sunday.

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“I sit right next to him in the conference room. We see the same thing. We speak the same language. I see what he sees. He sees what I see,” said Miller, who is likely to be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on the first ballot.

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