(KBTX) – For NFL superstar and former Texas A&M standout Von Miller, signing with the Dallas Cowboys isn’t just another contract in a storied, Hall of Fame-worthy career.
It is a homecoming.
And, as the DeSoto, Texas native put it during his opening press conference, it is a “dream within a dream.”
“Yes, it’s really cool,” Miller said when asked about playing for his hometown team. “It’s like that movie Inception, like a dream within a dream. You know, I always wanted to play in the National Football League, and then you play for the Dallas Cowboys. You know, we’re just going deep. We’re going deep with it. Year 16, dream within a dream.”
Manifesting the Star
Miller spent the offseason keeping fans and media talking by dropping hints on social media with various jerseys, including the Cowboys’ iconic star. While he joked that “social media is not a real place,” he admitted there was a method to the madness.
“It kind of worked out how it was supposed to,” Miller said. “It was just a way to keep media and the fans talking about me throughout the offseason while I was a free agent. But it did work out.”
The connection to Dallas runs deep. For the past three years, Miller has trained at the Elite Performance and Sports Academy, located right across the street from the Cowboys’ practice facility, the Star in Frisco. Driving by every day, the pull of his hometown team was impossible to ignore.
“You can’t help but feel it,” Miller said. “It wasn’t like, ‘I’m training here, so I’ll be a Cowboy’—that was never the thought—but you can’t help but feel it… It’s just always been a thought.”
Now, that thought is a reality, cemented by advice from Cowboys legend DeMarcus Ware, a long-time mentor who talked to Miller about the franchise even during their championship run together in Denver.
“He told me about the Cowboys,” Miller said. “I’m very familiar with how things go, whether that’s with DeMarcus or just living in Dallas my whole entire life.”
The Ultimate Teammate
At age 37, critics and pundits have debated what Miller has left in the tank. But the two-time Super Bowl champion is quick to shut down any doubts about his value. For Miller, his impact goes far beyond the box score.
“I can still play football,” Miller asserted. “When it comes to being a great teammate, like, if it was a Hall of Fame for that, I’m going to the Hall of Fame first ballot… I’m probably the best teammate that ever played in the National Football League.”
Miller explained his unique ability to elevate those around him, a skill he learned from legends like Peyton Manning, Aaron Donald, and Andrew Whitworth. He believes he can help Dallas win “10 to 15 plays” a game without even stepping onto the field, purely through his football IQ, preparation, and leadership.
“My ability to get people around me to play at a level that they wouldn’t normally play at—like, I don’t think nobody does that like me,” Miller said. “Whether it’s the defensive coordinator, defensive line, young guys… I can contribute in so many different ways to win games. And that’s not even talking about the type of player that I still believe that I am.”
He recalled how Donald credited him with key adjustments during their Super Bowl run with the Los Angeles Rams. “I really love the locker room… I plant those seeds with everybody,” Miller said. “My love to help guys improve and help the whole organization improve, and really just be that drop of oil in the water that changes the whole chemistry—that’s what I take pride in.”
Bringing a Championship Home
The signing has also unified a household. Miller joked that his mother has historically not been a Cowboys fan, but this year is different.
“This will be the first year where everybody’s unified on one team,” Miller smiled. “So it’s pretty cool to have everybody in blue.”
It also allows his five-year-old son, Valor, to watch his dad play in the city where Miller’s own love for the game began. One of Miller’s core memories is watching his father scream with joy in their living room during a Cowboys game when he was just four or five years old.
Now, Miller has the chance to create those same core memories for a new generation of Dallas fans. Having won championships in Denver and Los Angeles, Miller knows exactly what a Super Bowl would mean to the starved Cowboys faithful.
“Dallas Cowboys fans are in that same type of stream [as Buffalo and Denver],” Miller said. “The fans here are die-hard fans. And if we’re able to do that, if we’re able to have a successful season and win the Super Bowl… it’d be crazy in Dallas. It’d be a holiday as well.”
As for his jersey number? His signature No. 58 is a “Denver thing,” and No. 40 is currently worn by Cowboys linebacker Hunter Luepke. Ever the team guy, Miller is already negotiating.
“I did make some offers to him already that he can’t really come off of,” Miller joked. “I think, you know, a lifetime supply of chicken. I’d do it. Whatever it takes to make it happen… I’m here to win games, I’m here to win a Super Bowl.”
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