Bills All-Pro LB named one of NFL's best veteran players

NFL.com has identified Buffalo Bills linebacker Matt Milano as one of the league's best players over 30 years of age.

Bills linebacker Matt Milano returns this interception 43 yards for a touchdown against the Titans. / JAMIE GERMANO / USA TODAY NETWORK

It feels like just yesterday that fans of the Buffalo Bills were making their voices heard on social media and calling for promising fifth-round rookie Matt Milano to usurp Ramon Humber on the depth chart.

Fast forward seven years, and that once-promising safety convert out of Boston College is one of the NFL’s best off-ball linebackers. He’s totaled 488 total tackles, 39 pass deflections, 10 interceptions, and nine fumble recoveries throughout his decorated professional career, long sticking out as one of the league’s more underrated defenders before finally earning All-Pro and Pro Bowl nods in the 2022 campaign.

He’s the prototypical modern linebacker, a rangy athlete who can hold his own in coverage while frequently coming up with splash plays. He’s been one of the most important contributors on the Bills’ defense for the better part of the last decade, and he’s thus, rightfully, oft-ranked among the best in the league at his position.

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Though it doesn’t necessarily seem like Milano has been in the league for a significant amount of time, he’s set to enter his eighth professional season. He’s currently on his third contract, a deal that ties him to Buffalo through the 2026 campaign (which will be his 10th as a professional). He, at this point, is an NFL veteran in every sense of the word, and NFL.com has recently recognized him as one of the best in the league among this group.

Writers Ali Bhanpuri, Tom Blair, Gennaro Filice, and Dan Parr recently collaborated to rank the top 30 players in the NFL over 30 years of age entering the new campaign, slotting Milano in at No. 28 on the list. Filice praised the dynamic nature of Milano’s game, not expressing any concern as the veteran works back from injury

“Milano’s presence on this list might raise some eyebrows, but it shouldn’t,” Filice wrote. “The 2017 fifth-round pick was something of a pleasant surprise in his first few seasons with the Bills, but he became a certified stud in 2022, earning first-team All-Pro honors alongside a pair of established linebacking stars in Fred Warner and Roquan Smith. This carried over into the early goings of last season, with Milano snagging a pick in each of Buffalo’s first two games before piling up 10 tackles and a forced fumble in the Bills’ impressive Week 4 blowout of the Dolphins. Then Milano broke his leg in the ensuing London loss to Jacksonville, ending his season and dealing a serious blow to Sean McDermott’s defense. 

Buffalo Bills Matt Milano makes a face as he watches the action on the large screen hanging over the field. The Bills hosted the Cincinnati Bengals in their division playoff game and lost, Jan. 22, 2023. Bills Matt Milano / Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Rochester Democrat

“Milano, who turns 30 later this month, returned to practice in a limited capacity for mandatory minicamp, hopefully putting him on track for full participation in training camp. At 6-foot and 223 pounds, Milano wouldn’t have played linebacker in your father’s NFL. But in today’s league, he’s exactly what you want at the position: a dynamic sideline-to-sideline athlete with fine instincts as a blitzer and total comfort in coverage.”

As Filice notes in his analysis, Milano fractured his tibia in Week 5 of the 2023 campaign, an injury that sidelined him for the rest of the season. Head coach Sean McDermott stated in mid-May that the linebacker is “on schedule” in his recovery, and his participation in individual drills at mandatory minicamp would suggest that he’ll be a full-go when training camp commences next week. 

Another interesting note—despite appearing on a ranking of players over 30 years of age, Milano is not yet 30. As Filice notes, he’s currently 29, not set to turn 30 until July 28; the list is a ranking of players who will be 30 during the 2024 NFL season, however, and the linebacker, thus, qualifies.

Milano is one of three proper linebackers to appear on the list. He’s the lone Buffalo player mentioned.

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