THE MILANO FILE
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Team: Buffalo Bills
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Position: Linebacker
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Height:Ā 6-4
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Weight:Ā 230
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40 time: 4.67
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College:Ā Boston College
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Draft:Ā Fifth round, 163rd pick, 2017
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Contract:Ā Signed a two-year, extension, 2023
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WAG:Ā Single
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Children:Ā None
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Record/Accomplishments:
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First-team All-Pro, 2022
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This is about as improbable as it gets.
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In an era when the linebacker position has been devalued like a rotary phone, old-school Matt Milano has thrived.
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A fifth-round pick in the 2017 Draft, Milanoās chances of just sticking with the Buffalo Bills were slim. But he kept bringing the pain every day in practice, every play in the preseason of 2017 and there he was, still on Buffaloās roster after the final cuts.
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Heās still there, betting better with every play, every game, every season.
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He didnāt receive his first All-Pro recognition until the 2022 season. After that the Bills rewarded him with a two-year extension work $14 million per season. The deal is on top of an extension that would have kept Milano in Buffalo till 2024. Now heās a member of the Bills Mafia through 2026.
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Milano played at Boston College, a fine university with a competitive football program but it doesnāt walk with the likes of Alabama or Ohio State. In fact, Milano only received All-ACC honorable mention after his senior season.
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But thatās only stuff on paper. Milanoās ability to diagnosis plays and hit like a Mike Ditka nephew got him in the league and itās keeping him there. His sixth season with the Bills was his best ā 99 tackles, one and one-half sacks, three interceptions, two fumble recoveries and his first career touchdown.
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Some say Milano is a throwback. Fine. Heās more than content to do his job ā play after play, day after day, game after game, season after the season. Thatās what got him to Buffalo and he knows thatās what will keep him there.
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