The Dallas Cowboys added one of the best pass rushers of this generation when they added free agent Von Miller to their ranks on a one-year deal. As he acclimates to his new team, he’s trying to leave his mark with his preferred jersey number too.
Speaking to the media this week, Miller expressed interest in wearing the No. 40 now that he’s with the Cowboys. He wore that number at Texas A&M while he was in college, also in 2021 with the Los Angeles Rams and from 2022 to 2024 with the Buffalo Bills.
Miller was asked if he’d be interested in wearing the No. 94 in homage to former Cowboys pass rusher DeMarcus Ware, who was his former teammate on the Denver Broncos for two years. But Miller wasn’t interested, stating that it’s Ware’s number alone.
“Nah, 94, that’s D-Ware. That’s D-Ware,” Miller said.
Miller has to pay up.
As it stands, if Miller wants to wear the No. 40 he’ll have to get it from fullback Hunter Luepke. He expressed confidence that he’ll “figure something out” with Hunter to let him wear the number. Miller said he and Luepke are have “already started off on a great foot.”
“I don’t know. I don’t know what uniform number I’m going to be,” Miller said. “I know Hunter is 40. I think 58, that’s a Denver thing. I wore 58 so long in one spot. I wore 24 last year. That’s already taken as well. But Hunter, we already started off on a great foot. I’m a team guy. Whatever it takes to get it done. I’m sure we can figure something out. Even if it doesn’t work out, that’s just how it’s supposed to be. I’m not going to get caught up in a number, but I did make some offers to him already that I feel like he can’t really come off of those. I think a lifetime supply of chicken will do it.
“Whatever it takes to make it happen. Whether it does or not, I’m here to win games. I’m here to win a Super Bowl. That number would be nice, but I think the most important thing is to win a lot of these games, play in big games. The number will be an afterthought.”
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It seems unlikely that Miller won’t get his preferred number when all is said and done. The bigger question is whether he can finish his 15th year in the NFL holding the Vince Lombardi Trophy again.
Miller won Super Bowls with the Broncos and Rams, and will easily be a first-ballot Hall of Famer when he retires. But at the age of 36, he can still pass rush like the best in the league – if only at a situational level.
Will the Cowboys be Miller’s last stop?
