Broncos HC Announces New Starter on O-Line

Lloyd Cushenberry III will miss some time as the Denver Broncos emerge from the bye.

The Denver Broncos are emerging from the bye week with a full focus on knocking off the Tennessee Titans on the road. As has been the trend this year, the Broncos lost another starter in their last game when center Lloyd Cushenberry III went down with a groin injury in London. 

Unlike the other starters lost to injury, the Cushenberry situation could be a blessing in disguise, as he has been one of the NFL's worst centers in 2022. The Broncos' hyped wide-zone running game has been impotent, and Russell Wilson has been running for his veritable life because of the O-line interior's inability to sustain blocks. 

Cushenberry was been the culprit. When he went down against the Jacksonville Jaguars, veteran Graham Glasgow stepped in, and the Broncos' offense immediately took a couple of steps forward. 

But that was a decision made in the heat of battle. The Broncos have the option to go with rookie Luke Wattenberg at center instead of Glasgow. 

With two weeks to prepare, who will start at center with Cushenberry set to miss some time, according to head coach Nathaniel Hackett? 

“We’ll train both of them, but I think Graham really did a nice job," Hackett said on Monday. "He stepped in. I give Graham so much credit this whole season. [Going] all the way [back] to that first game in Seattle, he had to jump in and play guard. He’s played guard, now he’s played center. He’s been all over the place, and he hasn’t skipped a beat. It’d be good to get him going at center.”

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It was never really in doubt. Wattenberg isn't ready, and Glasgow, though he took a pay-cut to remain a Bronco this past offseason, is making too much money to supplant him with a green-behind-the-ears rookie sixth-rounder. Glasgow is easily the better player now, plus he's a veteran and a leader. 

With Dalton Risner at left guard, Glasgow at center, and Quinn Meinerz at right guard, the Broncos are poised to field their best interior trio of the season. To win in Nashville, you have to be able to run the ball. 

That interior trio gives Denver its best possible shot at executing its designs on the ground, and keeping Wilson protected from Tennessee's vaunted inside pass rushers. Get a hard-fought road win over the Titans, stringing together a pair of wins, and suddenly, all things become possible again for the beleaguered 3-5 Broncos. 

“It’s a new season—nine games," Hackett said. "Everything is ahead of us. In this league, to be able to get to where you want to go, you have to win a bunch of games in a row, whether it’s in the beginning or whether it’s in the end. To put yourself in a position to get to the playoffs, you have to win, and you have to win a bunch of them.”

UPDATE: The Broncos placed Cushenberry on injured reserve on Tuesday. It's Glasgow from here on out. 

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