Lower than per week after inking kicker Wil Lutz to an extension, the Broncos are signing one other player for the long haul. In response to Mike Klis of 9News in Denver, the Broncos have agreed to a four-year extension with center Luke Wattenberg.
The pact is value $48MM, including $27MM in guaranteed money, based on NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. We heard yesterday that the team had “preliminary” talks with Wattenberg a few long-term deal, and the 2 sides will need to have made some significant progress in the course of the team’s bye week.
Wattenberg’s contract vaults him towards the highest of his position in each value and guarantees. The fourth-year player now ranks fifth at his position in each contract value and AAV, while the $27MM in guaranteed money only trails the whopping $35MM Creed Humphrey got from the Chiefs.
A 2022 fifth-round pick, Wattenberg only got into 128 offensive snaps through his first two seasons within the NFL. Since then, he’s began all 24 of his appearances for the Broncos, with an ankle injury keeping him sidelined for 4 games last season. Pro Football Focus currently ranks him twentieth amongst 38 qualifying centers, although he finished 18th on the positioning in 2024.
Clearly, the Broncos imagine in his upside, and the organization is clearly intent on providing Bo Nix with some offensive continuity. The front office committed to each Garett Bolles and Quinn Meinerz in 2024, and with Mike McGlinchey and Ben Powers also signed long-term, Denver has seemingly locked of their offensive line for not less than the following few years.
With Lutz and Watternberg having signed extensions over the following week, we’ll now see if the Broncos can pull off a take care of Malcolm Roach. We heard yesterday that the front office also had initial extension talks with the line of defense, although the veteran surely wouldn’t command the identical payday as his teammates.
More to return…