6:34pm: Miller has turned himself in to the Glenn Heights Police and has already departed after posting a $5K bond, according to Josina Anderson.
10:34am: The Dallas Police Department has issued an arrest warrant for Bills defensive end Von Miller, according to WFAA’s Rebecca Lopez. This is in connection with alleged domestic violence.
Miller’s longtime girlfriend accused the 34-year-old pass rusher of assaulting her in their Dallas home Wednesday. Miller has not been arrested, but police are prepared to charge him with assault of a pregnant person, which Lopez notes is a third-degree felony in Texas. A Dallas-area native, Miller is in his second season with the Bills.
This incident occurred around 11am Wednesday, according to Spectrum News 1’s Jon Scott, and a preliminary investigation indicates Miller and his girlfriend engaged in a verbal argument before the accused player “assaulted the victim.” Miller left the scene before officers’ arrival. The woman was not transported to a hospital but received treatment for minor injuries, per Scott.
The Dallas Morning News has released additional details. During an argument between Miller and his girlfriend, the woman slamming the door made Miller “visibly angry,” according to a police report (via the Morning News’ Jamie Landers and Kelli Smith). Once Miller told the woman to leave, he is alleged to have pushed her and stomped on her laptop. Miller then allegedly pulled out a chunk of the woman’s hair and put his hands on her neck, applying pressure, according to Landers and Smith.
The affidavit indicates the woman had “minor abrasions” on her left hand, along with bruising on her abdomen, neck and left bicep. The indication by the woman she was calling the police prompted Miller to leave the couple’s apartment, per the Morning News. Miller’s girlfriend told police she is six weeks pregnant.
In 2021, a Colorado police department’s unspecified investigation into Miller did not produce charges. No details emerged surrounding that offseason issue, and Miller was not suspended. The details here are obviously problematic, and past NFL decisions have shown the league’s personal conduct policy does not require a conviction for a suspension to take place.
Miller signed a six-year, $120MM deal with the Bills in 2022, picking Buffalo over pursuits from the Rams and Cowboys. The future Hall of Famer has attempted to move past the ACL tear sustained on Thanksgiving 2022, but he has struggled in an effort to do so. In eight games, the 13th-year veteran does not have a sack. He has totaled just two tackles, working strictly as a backup for the Bills.
The Bills released a statement confirming they are aware of the arrest warrant. The team is currently in its bye week. In a statement, the NFL declined to comment about Miller’s potential placement on the commissioner’s exempt list, which would move him off the roster — with pay — while this matter is sorted out.
Following Miller’s second Super Bowl win, he prioritized a deal that guaranteed money into the third season of a contract. Neither the Cowboys nor Rams were willing to do so, but the Bills signing off on this aim finished off what was viewed at the time as a free agency win. Miller started off well in Buffalo, recording eight sacks in 11 games. But he has not recaptured the form he showed before his second ACL tear. Miller successfully bounced back from his first tear — in December 2013 — to become the best pass rusher in Broncos history and drive the team to a Super Bowl 50 win. Denver extended him at a defender-record rate the following offseason.
A suspension in connection with this alleged incident would put the veteran’s 2024 guaranteed money in jeopardy. Miller’s $17.1MM 2024 base salary is guaranteed for injury, and $10.71MM of that is fully guaranteed. A suspension would threaten to void those guarantees. Given Miller’s current form, a suspension would make it easier for the Bills to cut their losses. But it is too early to tell how this situation will play out.