Heading into the 2026 season, Washington Commanders linebacker and edge rusher Von Miller will be a free agent and will likely be departing the nation’s capital. With a renewed interest in making the team younger, it is unlikely that the Commanders re re-sign Miller to another contract.

Twilight of His Career

At 37 years old, there is no question that Miller is in the twilight of his career. While there has been speculation that he may be retiring sooner rather than later, based on his recent comments, Miller intends to play in 2026.

Speculation has run rampant regarding where Miller may play next, but one thing is certain: he will not be playing for the Las Vegas Raiders.

Why Not the Raiders?

On a recent episode of his Free Range podcast, Miller’s co-host read the following report:

“Yahoo Sports sent out a news article that Von Miller is expected to sign with the Las Vegas Raiders.”

Miller’s immediate response was:

“For one, I’m still a taken man. I’m still in a relationship with the Washington Commanders. For two, if I’m going to go to the AFC West, it’s got to be the Denver Broncos,” Miller said. “Like what? Me playing the Denver Broncos twice a year? I don’t think there’s anything that I can do to really take away from my legacy that I’ve already done with the Denver Broncos, but that: Going to the Raiders… That’s really the only thing that could make the Denver Broncos fanbase, Broncos Country, not love me anymore.”

The Only Way He Would Play For the Raiders

Miller did acknowledge one scenario in which Las Vegas would be considered.

“But I will say this, I can only go to where they want. Like, if it’s coachable, if the Raiders are the only team in the NFL that wants me, I’m playing next year, so I got to go to the Raiders. Like that’s that’s just how it goes. So I can only go wherever the money is. I can’t make somebody sign me or I can’t make a team pick me up. Like whatever the market is for Von Miller, that’s what I got to do. Yeah. Shout out to that free range or sing segment. That’s false though. That that is false though. That’s false.”

Miller made it clear that if he were to return to the AFC West, it would be with the Denver Broncos. The only scenario in which he would consider playing for the Las Vegas Raiders would be if they were the only team interested in signing him.

Simply put, he would rather play in 2026 for the Raiders than not play at all.

Denver Loyalty Still Runs Deep

At the end of the podcast, Miller made it pretty clear that he did not want to play for Las Vegas, and the report that stated he was headed there was false. It would make sense that he would want to go back to Denver, considering he spent the majority of his career there. One would assume that he would eventually like to retire as a Denver Bronco. This time of year, free agency rumors tend to run rampant, especially when big names like Von Miller are in the mix. But one thing is for certain: it would take 31 other teams in the NFL to say “no” to Von Miller for him to end up playing in Las Vegas.