If there was any doubt that acquiring Von Miller is a big deal for the Rams, Aaron Donald cleared it up with one word and one image.
Donald tweeted the word “Mood” and a GIF of himself grinning and nodding giddily.
That was the reaction by the Rams’ defensive star to the team trading for one of the few active NFL players with more Pro Bowl selections than him.
The Rams are getting Miller from the Denver Broncos in exchange for second- and third-round draft picks in 2022 and the Broncos’ agreement to pay $9 million of the $9.7 million remaining in the final year of his contract.
A source confirmed the details, first reported by ESPN.
Miller, 32, an eight-time Pro Bowler who has been playing right outside linebacker for the Broncos, would bookend a Rams defensive front that has Leonard Floyd on the opposite, four-time Pro Bowler Jalen Ramsey roaming the secondary and six-time Pro Bowler Donald anchoring the line.
Terrell Lewis and Ogbonnia Okoronkwo have been holding down the right edge for the 7-1 Rams since Justin Hollins was injured in Week 3. Hollins can also play inside linebacker. Coaches could have options when he returns.
Miller averaged 12.6 sacks a season from 2014 to 2018 but dropped off to eight in 2019 and missed all of last season with an ankle injury.
He had four sacks in three games this September to earn AFC Defensive Player of the Month honors, but was credited with only a half-sack in October.
The trade is unlikely to be announced until Miller undergoes a Rams physical.
“This was a surprise,” Miller told Denver reporters Monday. “You see (trade rumors) in the media. Every year for the last four years, I’ve seen it. But it’s hard to grip with reality sometimes.
“This team, they’re going to start winning soon,” Miller said of the 4-4 Broncos. “We’ve got a lot of great players and a lot of great coaches here, and the staff is amazing. I wanted to be a part of it, but you’ve just got to keep moving.”
The move came a day before the NFL’s trade deadline Tuesday at 1 p.m. Los Angeles time.
And it came a week after the Rams and Broncos announced the trade that sent linebacker Kenny Young and a seventh-round draft pick in 2024 to Denver in exchange for a sixth-round pick in ’24.
The Young trade’s chief benefit for the Rams was to create more space under the league salary. Now it’s more clear what general manager Les Snead and coach Sean McVay had in mind.
The Denver Post reported that the possibility of a Miller trade came up when the Rams and Broncos worked on the Young deal. The Rams were motivated to bolster their defense, which has slipped from last year’s No. 1 ranking, for low immediate cost. The Broncos wanted to get something in return for Miller before his six-year, $114 million expires in March.
The Rams spent their 2022 first-round draft pick in last winter’s trade for quarterback Matthew Stafford.
The Miller trade is the latest sign that the Rams are all out to win the Super Bowl this season, when the championship game will be played at SoFi Stadium.
“We’re all in,” the Rams’ official Twitter account said next to a GIF of John Malcovich splashing poker chips in “Rounders.”
For the past few weeks, the Rams had downplayed the chances of a major move at the trade deadline.
“You won’t see any big splash moves, like maybe you’ve seen from us in the past,” McVay said Oct. 15. “It doesn’t look like that could occur. I would never say never, as you know.”
But that was before the Young trade freed up some salary-cap room.
The Rams still must work out what to do with wide receiver DeSean Jackson. They agreed last week to let him look for a new team after his playing time faded. They hope to make a trade that would allow the other team to take on his contract.
Mood pic.twitter.com/PXGXCrjRgh
— AD_99 (@AaronDonald97) November 1, 2021