The Chicago Bears may have just re-signed tight end Zach Miller yesterday despite his serious knee injury, but as expected, Miller will not play in the 2018 season. The Bears made it official when they placed Miller on the reserve/PUP list, per Ian Rapoport.
The #Bears placed TE Zach Miller, who signed yesterday, on the reserve/PUP list. This ends his season, though the team knew he could not play. This means he’ll make $458,000 this year.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) June 5, 2018
Miller, 33, suffered the horrific knee injury last October which saw him dislocate his knee and tear a major artery. He very nearly lost his leg and has needed nine surgeries to get it fixed.
But despite the fact that they knew Miller couldn’t play this season and likely won’t play in the NFL again, the Bears still re-signed him on a one-year deal. Although he won’t get the $790,000 he was slated to earn had he played this season, Miller still gets $458,000 anyway as per the terms of the deal.
While he won’t play this year, Miller is still part of the Bears. That means he’ll still have access to the team’s facilities and other resources for the year as he continues his arduous rehabilitation on that damaged knee.
Enough can’t be said about the Bears’ move to go over and beyond in order to help Miller out. While Miller played three seasons with Chicago, they were under no obligation to hand him more money than they needed to after his deal expired this offseason.
But that’s what they did, and they deserve some recognition for the class with which they’ve handled the whole situation. If Miller's career does come to an end due to that injury, which is likely, that money will go some way toward aiding him on the post-NFL phase of his life.
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