Bills' Miller practicing after ban, 'in a great spot'

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Buffalo Bills defensive end Von Miller returned to practice Wednesday after his four-game suspension for violating for the NFL's personal conduct policy was lifted by commissioner Roger Goodell on Monday.

'I'm in a great spot. I'm just happy all of that stuff is behind me," said Miller, who missed Weeks 5 to 8 without pay. "Since I've been here with the Buffalo Bills, it's either been injury or the PUP list or the suspension, and I'm just happy to have all the stuff behind me for the first time in 2½ years and just able to just focus on football.

"... Got nine games left, and once you have something taken away from you -- whether it's football stuff, NFL stuff, league stuff, like what happened over the last month or whether it's [an] injury -- you just have a new appreciation for the sport."

Miller turned himself in to the Glenn Heights (Texas) Police Department on Nov. 30 on an arrest warrant for a charge of third-degree felony assault of a pregnant woman. The allegations of assaulting his pregnant girlfriend in suburban Dallas came during the Bills' bye week in 2023. He was booked into the DeSoto Tri-City Jail that afternoon before being released on $5,000 bond.

He has denied the allegations and said that they are "100% false." The Dallas County District Attorney's Office confirmed to ESPN last month that the case is closed. No charges were ever filed in the case. The NFL conducted a separate investigation.

Miller on Wednesday would not say whether he contemplated appealing the suspension.

"I'm just trying to bury that and put it behind me," Miller, 35, said. "... Got a 6-2 team. Josh Allen's playing like an MVP. That's our counterpart. They put up points. I'm able to pass rush and do all the things that I do. So that's where my focus is."

A temporary roster exemption was granted to the Bills for this week as Miller returns from his suspension, and the team has an open spot on the 53-man roster waiting for him. He has been around the team's facility for the past two weeks because the collective bargaining agreement allows players to be in the building during the second half of the suspension period.

"From what I've seen over the last couple of weeks, [being in the facility] gives the player a chance to, number one, from a mental health standpoint, be back around his teammates," coach Sean McDermott said. "And then number two, from a physical health standpoint, do what he can to get himself ramped up a little bit as he comes off the suspension."

Goodell said in March that he did consider placing Miller on the commissioner's exempt list, but he did not feel it was appropriate at the time based on all the facts. The commissioner's list makes players exempt from counting against the active roster for reasons determined by the commissioner.

Miller has played in 27 regular-season games with the Bills and two playoff games since signing a six-year deal originally worth $120 million in March 2022. He suffered a major right ACL injury on Thanksgiving 2022, and he stated during training camp this year that he "probably should not have played" in 2023 because of the injury. He restructured his contract this offseason, taking a pay cut and saving the Bills $8.645 million in cap space.

"It'll be good to have Von back," McDermott said. "He's been out four weeks and never sure what that brings, right, in terms of staying refined, staying polished. But I'm sure he's been chomping at the bit to get back. It'll be nice to have him back.

"But again, it's never about one person, especially when you play up front. It's about the sum of the parts and it's about four guys rushing as one. And that'll be important for us as we move forward as defense overall."

The Bills went 3-1 while Miller was suspended and have a 3½-game lead in the AFC East ahead of Sunday's home game against the Miami Dolphins. Miller had three sacks in the first four games of the season.