Von Miller has been silent for nearly a month, on the field and off.
The Buffalo Bills defensive end broke his silence Thursday in his first public comments since being arrested for third-degree assault of a pregnant woman Nov. 30 in Texas, allegations he claimed were “wrong and blown out of proportion.”
He later said “all of it’s incorrect” except news he and his girlfriend are expecting a third son. Miller did not provide any specific details to dispute the charges, but said that everything with his girlfriend is still the same as before the arrest. He called it “a crazy day.”
“There are men and women that deal with serious domestic situations, you cannot downplay that,” Miller said. “That really happens. That’s not a fairytale, that stuff is true, that stuff is real. Never in any of the relationships I’ve been in, never in my current relationship with my girlfriend did any of those things happen. … It is 100% false, it’s overblown and I’ve got the right people on the job.”
An affidavit obtained by The Dallas Morning News claimed an argument between Miller and his long-time girlfriend turned physical, alleging the 34-year-old pushed her, stepped on her feet and applied pressure around are neck for 3 to 5 seconds. Later, when the woman attempted to record Miller on her phone, he grabbed her around the neck with both hands an applied pressure.
Police reported the woman had “minor abrasions” on her left hand, along with bruising on her abdomen, left bicep and neck, according to the affidavit. No photographs or recordings have been released to the public.
WFAA in Dallas reported obtaining the 911 call, claiming the woman said, “My boyfriend is choking and hitting me. I have bruises all over me. My hair is out.” But that has not been released either.
They also had a text message exchange with the woman, who called the altercation “a huge understanding” and “no one assaulted anyone.” Miller was released on a $5,000 bond after turning himself into police the day after a warrant was issued.
“All I can say is it’s a matter of time before everything gets set straight,” said Miller, who was investigated in Colorado for domestic violence in 2021, but was not charged. “… It didn’t happen and it’s just a matter of time before it gets set straight.”
Since then, Miller has not been subject to discipline from the the Bills nor the NFL. Bills general manager Brandon Beane said Dec. 6 the allegations seemed “out of character” and “ sitting guys or disciplining guys without the right information, that can be a little bit dangerous.”
Miller has declined to comment when approached for interviews since the arrest, but said Thursday that being with the team has been a release for him.
“It’s a serious situation and it’s hard to block out, but coming up here, it’s always sunny,” Miller said. “Coming up here and being a part of this football team is like a country club. You come here and you can kind of detach from everything else that’s outside the world.”
Miller recorded two quarterback hits, including one on the final drive against the Kansas City Chiefs, his first game after being arrested. Over the last two games, Miller’s playing time has increased, playing a season-high 46% of the defensive snaps.
But Miller, who is in the second year of a six-year, $120 million contract, has three tackles and no sacks in 11 games since returning from a torn ACL suffered on Thanksgiving 2022. He doesn’t feel that he came back too early from the injury, that he should be on the field and is “one play from breaking through.”
“When you watch the film, it’s obvious that I’m not all the way back to where I can be,” Miller said. “… If I was younger in my career, this would be more of a drag on me, but right now, there’s just so many things I have to be happy about. … It’s bigger than just me and the main focus has been winning games and as long as we’re doing that, I’m good.”
NOTES: LB Terrel Bernard (ankle), DE A.J. Epenesa (rib), S Damar Hamlin (shoulder), S Micah Hyde (neck stinger) and RB Ty Johnson (shoulder) were limited during practice Thursday. … DE Shaq Lawson did not participate due to an illness. … DT DaQuan Jones (pectoral) was a full participant for the second consecutive day.