Mac Engel: The enchanting personnel move that has whiffed badly for the Cowboys

Mac Engel, Fort Worth Star-Telegram on Oct 7, 2026

Published in Football

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HOUSTON — He put on his boots, and smiled so wide it could sprain his face to talk to two reporters, because Von Miller is just so happy to be here in this moment.

This is what it looks like to appreciate what you have before it’s gone.

“We came to H-Town and did what we needed to do,” the Cowboys linebacker said after Dallas rallied to defeat the Texans on Sunday in Houston 34-30. “How ‘bout them Cowboys, baby!”

The team signed him in August to a one-year, $5.5 million contract to provide a pass rushing presence they lacked. It was hard not to love the move.

Von Miller as a Cowboy is a charming story. DeSoto kid. Texas A&M alum. A proud Texan who loves his cowboy boots and his cowboy hat almost as much as he loves Texas, and football.

Wouldn’t it be great to think that ...

Don’t. In four games, Miller has two tackles.

Miller as a Cowboy hasn’t done much of anything other than serve as a case of perspective.

Miller with the Cowboys is a dud

Miller has played 62 snaps for the Cowboys, and it’s not there. No sacks. No pressures. Just another NFL player occupying space in hopes of making a play or two or 10 the team needs. If his name wasn’t “Von Miller,” no one would notice.

The only reason we notice is because of the name. The biggest reason he’s on the team today are the people behind him on the depth chart.

The impressive production he amassed last season in 17 games with the Washington Commanders — nine sacks — didn’t make the trip to Texas.

On Sunday, the Cowboys sacked Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud twice. Miller wasn’t in on either.

After the game, Miller sounded like a man who had 10 sacks, and scored two touchdowns in a win.

“We had guys flyin’ around, ready to go,” he said. “Guys like Caleb Downs [and] Malachi Lawrence. Let’s go. I’m so happy for [Rashan Gary] to get a sack.

“Big dubs. Big dubs. Big dubs.”

Sounds good, but this doesn’t mean much of anything.

Miller averages about 24 plays per game, and given his rate of production, that number is apt to drop.

The hope was that he would provide a few catalytic plays here and there while serving as a mentor to the young players on the front seven, such as Lawrence, Jaishawn Barham and Donovan Ezeiruaku.

Miller may provide some solid advice to counsel to young players, and that’s it.

Miller with the Cowboys is a great story for one reason

The average age of an NFL player is 26, and the length of an average NFL career is 3.3 years.

Miller has not just defied his age but seemingly ignored it, and for a long time sacked it.

Miller is 37 years old playing in his 16th NFL season. Guys who last this long in the NFL are usually kickers, long snappers and maybe a few quarterbacks. Not linebackers, or pass rushers.

The player who was selected one slot ahead of him in the 2011 NFL draft, Auburn quarterback Cam Newton, played his last season in the league in 2021.

The player selected five picks after Miller, Missouri defensive end Aldon Smith, was a Pro Bowler who played his last season in the NFL in 2021, and he tragically died in June.

Miller keeps playing, and has a desire to be on the field. It’s not out of his system.

It was Baseball Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan who once told fellow native Texan Roger Clemens not to retire; that, “The game will tell you when you’re done.”

It’s why the common path for older players is that one day their production finally just stops. Last season in Washington, Miller still showed he had something.

In his first season with the Cowboys — and remember he was signed after training camp was over — Miller has shown almost nothing.

Four games. Two tackles.

It was great to think that maybe ... but just don’t.

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