Bucs told Roy Miller he was faking his concussion

Remember Roy Miller, the nose tackle who was pretty good against the run, not good against anything else, and left for the Jacksonville Jaguars after 2012? He talked to JoeBucsFan about his time with the Bucs, and had some not-so-positive things to say about the way they treated him, and let him and Michael Bennett leave in free agency.

Apparently, Greg Schiano wanted him back, but Mark Dominik wasn’t willing to shell out a lot of money for a two-down nose tackle who is relatively easily replaced. Miller makes a big deal out of the team not valuing his position, but, well, that’s entirely justified. The team’s run defense didn’t skip a beat when he left, and Miller simply doesn’t add much of anything as a pass rusher. Miller certainly is good at what he does, but the Bucs’ front office correctly judged that what he did was easily replaced and hence not worth all that much money. That has to be tough for Miller, but it’s smart policy.

Not smart policy: telling players they’re lying about their injuries, and especially concussions. Running a workplace based on fear and distrust doesn’t work, treating concussions as trivial injuries is bad medicine, and both are downright unethical. Yes, these are things that happen all over the NFL, but it’s rare for players to actually talk about them.

“Me and Schiano had a great relationship,” Miller said. “There were some things: I had a concussion that year and I missed the [Week 14] Eagles game, and I was told that I was saving myself for free agency. There was just too much stuff to where I felt like, beyond business, as a man I couldn’t return to something like that if they’re going to be that shady.”

While it’s not entirely clear from the quote, JoeBucsFan notes that Miller isn’t talking about Schiano, here. Which means we can’t blame him for at least one of the ugly things that happened at One Buc Place in 2012.