The Buffalo Bills were holding out hope that star pass rusher Von Miller would be in the lineup for Week 1 when they face off against the new-look New York Jets on Monday Night Football. He has been working diligently since tearing his ACL on Thanksgiving last season.

There was some optimism when the injury occurred that Miller would be able to get back on the field at some point during the 2022 regular season or players. But, an exploratory procedure was done and the extent of the injury was revealed, ending his 2022 campaign.

Now, we have learned it will also delay the start of his 2023 season. While Miller remained steadfast in his belief that he would be able to get back into the lineup opening day, that will not be the case.

The Bills are not currently planning to remove Miller from the physically unable-to-play list before 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday, which is the deadline to cut the roster down to 53 players. That means he will be sidelined for at least the first four weeks of the season.

There is a chance that he won’t be activated at that time, as the four weeks is the minimum he will miss. That includes games against the Jets, Las Vegas Raiders, Washington Commanders and Miami Dolphins.

The Bills would assuredly prefer to have Miller on the field, but they have much bigger long-term goals. They need him healthy for the playoff run they are hoping to go on, so if holding him out another month helps ensure his health for that, so be it.

Miller remained dominant when on the field last season. Despite playing only 11 games, he still finished tied for first on the team in sacks with 8.0. He also led the team with 38 pressures, a pass rush win rate of 23.6 percent and a pressure percentage of 14.5 percent.

Luckily for Buffalo, they have compiled a deep pass-rushing group around Miller. His former teammate with the Los Angeles Rams, Leonard Floyd, was signed this offseason after the Rams released him. A.J. Epenesa and Gregory Rousseau, who tied Miller for the Bills’ lead with eight sacks last season, also remain.

The decision to keep Miller on the PUP list is certainly surprising as the Bills traded Boogie Basham to the New York Giants on Tuesday afternoon. Basham was a second-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft out of Wake Forest who didn’t have a clear path to playing time in Buffalo and should be happy with the scenery change.