3 moves the Denver Broncos got right and 2 they will regret in 2023

Denver Broncos may regret not tapping into veteran center market

Every year in NFL Free Agency, it seems like there’s some position group that is just going for pennies on the dollar. This year, it seems like that position group was the center spot.

The Denver Broncos have Lloyd Cushenberry III penciled in as their starting center for the time being, a spot he’s held the majority of the last three years since he was drafted in 2020. Cushenberry has had his fair share of struggles as an NFL player, most notably going up against strong, powerful defensive linemen.

He suffered an injury last season that landed him on IR and he was replaced in the lineup by Graham Glasgow. When Cushenberry was healthy enough to come off of IR, the Broncos decided not to bring him back to the active roster and instead continued to roll with veteran interior lineman Graham Glasgow.

Sean Payton says that Cushenberry is the starter but it feels very much like a “for now” kind of situation. The Broncos drafted a true center in 2023 in 7th-round pick Alex Forsyth, but is he a legitimate threat to take this job?

Maybe.

The Broncos could have had any number of players in free agency at the center position. The going rate was typically less than $5-6 million per season unless your name is Jason Kelce.

The question is — why did they pass on the veterans? Do they really believe in Cushenberry’s ability to turn things around? Not signing a veteran center might be one of the things this Broncos team regrets the most, especially if it ends up being the weak link on their improved line overall.