HEADLINES

Luke Wattenberg

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/9/24

November 9th, 2024 at 9:11pm CST by Ely Allen

Today’s minor moves, including standard gameday practice squad elevations:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

  • Elevated: LB Curtis Bolton, WR Isaiah Hodgins

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Spector will miss at least the next four games as a result of the Bills’ move. He has remained a mainstay on special teams this year, having also done so in 2022 and ’23. The former seventh-rounder has made three starts on defense, however, so his absence will be felt moving forward. Linebacker has been a position hit hard by injuries this season, and Buffalo’s depth at the second level will now be tested even further.

Wattenberg had his 21-day practice window opened by the Broncos earlier this week, paving the way for today’s activation. The 27-year-old operated as the team’s starting center prior to going down after having won a summer competition for the gig with Alex Forsyth. Forsyth handled first-team duties over the past four games, drawing a superior PFF evaluation and therefore potentially playing his way into an extended look atop the depth chart. At a minimum, having Wattenberg back will give Denver – a team with three IR activations left – depth up front.

Broncos Designate C Luke Wattenberg, LB Drew Sanders For Return

November 6th, 2024 at 4:49pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Broncos are 5-4 but did make a seller’s trade, unloading Baron Browning (to the Cardinals) for a sixth-round pick. This came shortly after the team extended fellow outside linebacker Jonathon Cooper.

Cooper and Nik Bonitto will continue to anchor Denver’s edge rush, while third-round rookie Jonah Elliss figures to see his snaps increase. But the Broncos also may have a boost coming from a 2023 third-rounder soon. Drew Sanders is now back at practice, returning to work months after suffering an Achilles tear.

While Sanders is in the PUP-return window, center Luke Wattenberg has received a return designation as well, 9News’ Mike Klis notes. Wattenberg spent the past four weeks on IR, but he is moving toward being one of the Broncos’ injury activations. Denver has used four and still has Josh Reynolds as a likely candidate to count for a spot. The free agent wide receiver pickup has not returned to practice. While he was in line to be back from the finger injury that landed him on IR, being wounded in an October shooting delayed the timetable.

Sanders will not count toward Denver’s eight activations, having resided on the PUP list all season. He went down soon after the Broncos started their offseason program in April, providing a runway toward a return this season. Last season, Sanders played in all 17 games and made four starts. At Arkansas in 2022, Sanders finished with 9.5 sacks and 103 tackles. His versatility could present options for his pro team as well.

An Alabama transfer, Sanders has spent time at OLB and in an off-ball linebacker spot. A role as a pass rusher would help the Broncos, who could effectively have him replace Browning, though the team also lost top tackler Alex Singleton for the season. Justin Strnad has worked as Singleton’s primary replacement alongside Cody Barton.

Wattenberg beat out Alex Forsyth for the center job following Lloyd Cushenberry‘s free agency defection. Pro Football Focus has viewed Forsyth as having been the better option this season, ranking the 2023 seventh-round pick — who snapped to Bo Nix at Oregon during the 2022 season — 11th compared to Wattenberg’s 28th-place ranking. It will be interesting to see how the Broncos proceed here. If nothing else, the player edged out of the starting lineup would represent important depth.

Broncos Place Josh Reynolds, Luke Wattenberg On IR, Activate Audric Estime

October 12th, 2024 at 9:19pm CST by Adam La Rose

Josh Reynolds recently underwent finger surgery, and it will keep him sidelined for a notable period. The Broncos wideout was placed on injured reserve Saturday, per a team announcement.

Reynolds had already been ruled out for Week 6, with further missed time being on the table. Today’s move confirms he will be sidelined for at least the next four games, something which will create a notable vacancy in Denver’s receiving corps. The free agent pickup’s 138 yards rank second on the team this season.

Finding production through the air will be a key goal moving forward for the 3-2 Broncos. Rookie quarterback Bo Nix has shown signs of improvement compared to his opening two contests, but without Reynolds in the fold Courtland Sutton will be leaned on even more in the passing game. The likes of Marvin Mims, Lil’Jordan Humphrey, DeVaughn Vele and fourth-round rookie Troy Franklin will be counted on to help fill the void created by the 29-year-old’s absence.

Lloyd Cushenberry departed the Broncos in free agency, landing a big-ticket deal with the Titans. His departure left an opening on a Denver offensive line which is otherwise spoken for in terms of first-team contributors. A competition amongst internal replacement options took place during the offseason, with Wattenberg edging out Alex Forsyth for the gig. Wattenberg, 27, hardly played during his first two seasons in Denver but he logged every snap to begin the 2024 campaign before going down in Week 5.

Forsyth took over at center last week, and he represents a logical candidate to start moving forward. Drafted in the seventh round last year (after playing with Nix at Oregon), Forsyth did not see any playing time as a rookie. The 25-year-old dressed for each of Denver’s first four contests but only logged special teams snaps before Wattenberg’s injury. That could change over the coming games.

In more positive injury news, rookie running back Audric Estime was activated from IR. The fifth-rounder was injured in Week 1, so Sunday’s contest marked the earliest point at which he could be brought back into the lineup. Estime practiced this week, suggesting he would indeed be activated today. With Tyler Badie on injured reserve, a depth role should await him right away behind Javonte Williams and Jaleel McLaughlin.

OL Notes: Broncos, Wattenberg, Raiders, Cowboys, Beebe, Patriots, Giants, Neal

August 22nd, 2024 at 8:14pm CST by Sam Robinson

The center position sticks out on Denver’s offensive line. Four eight-figure-per-year contracts populate the Broncos‘ front, giving Bo Nix a solid batch of blockers as he begins his career. But the team did not bring in a starter-caliber player to replace Lloyd Cushenberry, who signed a big-ticket deal with the Titans. A matchup of recent Day 3 picks in training camp is close to being resolved. Luke Wattenberg has started Denver’s two preseason games, and the coaching staff views the 2022 fifth-rounder as having made great strides ahead of his third season. Wattenberg should be considered the favorite to start over 2023 seventh-rounder Alex Forsyth (despite the latter having been Nix’s 2022 center at Oregon), per the Denver Gazette’s Chris Tomasson.

A Washington alum already going into his age-27 season, Wattenberg has two seasons left on his rookie contract. He has played 128 career snaps. This will be an adjustment for the Broncos, who used Cushenberry as a starter for four seasons. But Wattenberg’s fifth-round contract will mesh well on a line with Garett Bolles, Ben Powers, Mike McGlinchey and now Quinn Meinerz on pricey deals.

Here is the latest from the O-line ranks:

  • The Patriots will of course look into additions on the waiver wire, when hundreds of cut players will be available come Wednesday, but de facto GM Eliot Wolf said (via MassLive.com’s Karen Guregian) the team is content with its current mix up front. In addition to being without left guard Cole Strange, the Pats have not named their starting tackles. It appears to be trending toward 2023 late-August trade pickup Vederian Lowe at LT and street FA addition Chukwuma Okorafor at RT, the Boston Herald’s Doug Kyed writes. Jerod Mayo both said he had wanted an O-line settled before the third preseason game and that Drake Maye‘s short outing in the preseason opener came from an uneasiness about the front five. This does not paint a picture of stability entering the season, which would make it rather interesting if Mayo and Wolf opted to open the year with Maye starting.
  • Cooper Beebe had been mentioned as a strong candidate to replace Tyler Biadasz as the Cowboys‘ center, but Brock Hoffman — a 2022 UDFA who started two games last season — had worked exclusively in that spot during most of training camp. Beebe, however, has received first-team work recently, Saad Youself of The Athletic notes (subscription required). Since that insertion, Beebe looks to be moving toward landing the gig. The third-round rookie appears the more likely starter, Yousef adds, with Hoffman — despite his weeks-long run with the first unit — seemingly ticketed for a backup role.
  • After a shoulder injury kept Jackson Powers-Johnson out of OTAs, and a concussion sustained at minicamp sidelined the second-round pick for months. Powers-Johnson only returned to Raiders practice recently. The team had hoped the Oregon center would win its LG job from the jump, but the time off will likely delay his start to the season. Antonio Pierce said (via The Athletic’s Tashan Reed) Powers-Johnson is unlikely for Week 1. Free agent signing Cody Whitehair has worked as Las Vegas’ starting LG and is poised to keep that role to open the season. The Bears demoted the longtime starter midway through last season, making his Raiders fit — with ex-Bears OC Luke Getsy calling the shots — interesting. But the 32-year-old blocker looks like a Week 1 starter.
  • Last year’s Raiders RG starter, Greg Van Roten is reprising his right-side tandem with Jermaine Eluemunor in New York. If Giants center John Michael Schmitz misses time, however, The Athletic’s Dan Duggan expects the recently added guard to slide to center. Free agent pickup Aaron Stinnie would replace Van Roten, 34, at guard in this scenario.
  • Duggan drops another concerning nugget about Evan Neal‘s status as well, indicating the displaced RT starter is not a lock to be active on gamedays due to only taking reps at right tackle since coming back from ankle surgery. Joshua Ezeudu, who has worked at both left and right tackle spots during camp, would be the Giants’ swing tackle if Neal’s transition from top-10 pick to healthy scratch actually happens.

Latest On Broncos’ Center Competition

May 26th, 2024 at 10:33am CST by Rory Parks

The cap-strapped Broncos saw one of last year’s top offensive performers, center Lloyd Cushenberry, sign with the Titans in free agency, leaving Denver with a major question mark at the pivot as it ushers in yet another new era at quarterback. 2022 fifth-rounder Luke Wattenberg will certainly have a chance to become the club’s starting center, but as Ryan McFadden of the Denver Post writes, the Broncos are also high on 2023 seventh-round selection Alex Forsyth.

McFadden says that the team views Forsyth as a potential starting-caliber center, which jibes with the comments that GM George Paton made on the matter earlier this year. Forsyth’s candidacy is buttressed by the fact that he served as the snapper for quarterback Bo Nix, the No. 12 overall selection in this year’s draft, when the two were at Oregon in 2022.

Wattenberg, meanwhile, started 16 games at center while in college, but he has played sparingly in his two years in the professional ranks, with most of his reps coming at the guard positions. And though his 129 total snaps certainly qualify as a small sample size, he has not played particularly well in that limited action.

The Broncos did sign Sam Mustipher to a one-year contract in April, and he has the experience that Forsyth and Wattenberg lack, having played 52 games (42 starts) in the NFL. He served as the Bears’ full-time pivot from 2021-22, but the fact that he was non-tendered by Chicago last year and had to settle for a one-year pact with the Ravens — and the fact that he did not even crack Baltimore’s initial 53-man roster — underscores his middling performance in the Windy City. The soon-to-be 28-year-old blocker did start two games for the Ravens last season in relief of the injured Tyler Linderbaum, and he performed reasonably well as a stopgap.

As McFadden notes in a separate piece, Wattenberg was working with the first-team offense in OTAs earlier this week, while Forsyth worked with the second unit. Still, the center competition in Denver appears to be wide open, despite the fact that Forsyth did not see any action at all in his rookie campaign. Sooner rather than later, Nix will take the reins at quarterback, and there is a good chance he will have a familiar face snapping him the ball.

Broncos Expected To Keep Courtland Sutton, Want Tim Patrick Back At Reduced Rate

February 28th, 2024 at 8:56am CST by Sam Robinson

Two of the NFL’s top trade chips leading up to the past two deadlines, Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy remain in Denver. Offers have come in at various points, but the Broncos stood pat. They may not this year, as Sean Payton begins his second offseason.

Rumored to be considering disbanding this duo at long last, the Broncos do not appear ready to part with Sutton. Emerging as the team’s top weapon in Payton’s first season, Sutton has two years left on the four-year, $60MM extension he signed in 2021. That is a below-market rate for a No. 1 wide receiver, and 9News’ Mike Klis notes the six-year veteran is expected back next season.

[RELATED: Russell Wilson Wants To Stay With Broncos, Still Expects Release]

Sutton, whom the Broncos nearly traded to the Ravens prior to the AFC North team’s Odell Beckham Jr. addition, does not have any guarantees remaining on his deal. Notching a number of acrobatic receptions for an offense that did not have much in the way of reliable weaponry last season, Sutton is due a $13MM base salary in 2024. $2MM of Sutton’s 2024 base ($13MM) becomes guaranteed on March 17. The former second-round pick is going into his age-29 season.

This would point to another round of trade rumors involving Jeudy, who is coming off a disappointing season. Although Jeudy’s 758 yards nearly matched Sutton’s total (772), the shiftier target struggled to be a steady target for Russell Wilson in Payton’s offense. A new quarterback almost definitely coming could change Jeudy’s standing in Denver, and the 2020 first-round pick’s trade value likely dropped due to his spotty performance and the $12.99MM guaranteed salary that comes with his fifth-year option.

The Broncos held out for a second-round pick for Sutton and a first-rounder for Jeudy last year. No such proposals are believed to have emerged, though Jeudy is reported to have drawn an offer including third- and fifth-rounders before the deadline. It will be interesting to see if the Broncos finally move on, as they have Marvin Mims likely to assume a bigger role in 2024.

While Tim Patrick remains on Denver’s roster, the former Drew Lock and Teddy Bridgewater target looms as a cut candidate due to a $9.5MM nonguaranteed 2024 salary and the fact he has not played since the 2021 season. Still, Klis adds the Broncos would like Patrick back at a reduced rate. If the parties cannot agree on that lower price, Patrick would be on track to be cut. Patrick going into his age-31 season will not help his value, making it rather important for the former UDFA to have signed an extension before his injury-plagued stretch.

ACL and Achilles tears over the past two training camps have kept Patrick off the field since his 734-yard showing in 2021. The surehanded 6-foot-4 wideout remains tied to the three-year, $30MM deal he signed just before Sutton back in fall 2021.

It is safe to assume the Broncos will not bring back all four of their top receivers next year, with Jeudy and Patrick on the radar to be moved. As of now, however, the team — which is $16MM-plus over the cap — is determining a plan early in an offseason in which Wilson is likely to be cut to bring an $85MM dead-money charge (over two offseasons, via a post-June 1 designation).

This cap situation will make it difficult for the Broncos to re-sign center Lloyd Cushenberry, who made a contract-year leap. After two healthy but unremarkable seasons to start his career, the former third-round center investment missed much of the 2022 season due to a groin injury. Cushenberry bounced back, ranking 11th among interior O-linemen in ESPN’s pass block win rate metric. The Broncos want to re-sign the four-year starter, but GM George Paton said the team is high on 2023 seventh-round pick Alex Forsyth and fellow holdover Luke Wattenberg. While the Broncos should not be ruled out from making a center move, early signs point to one of the rookie-deal cogs winning the job.

NFL Draft Pick Signings: 5/11/22

May 11th, 2022 at 4:20pm CST by Zachary Links

We’ll keep track of today’s late-round signings here:

Denver Broncos

Los Angeles Chargers

Minnesota Vikings

  • Signed: TE Nick Muse (sixth round, South Carolina)

New England Patriots

  • Signed: DT Sam Roberts (sixth round, Northwest Missouri State)