In addition to having three players competing for the starting quarterback job this summer, the Denver Broncos will also have a trio of centers rotating snaps in a competition to anchor the offensive line.
Denver has fifth-year veteran Sam Mustipher, third-year swing guard/center Luke Wattenberg and second-year pro Alex Forsyth competing at center. After losing Lloyd Cushenberry during free agency, the Broncos are set to have a new Week 1 center for the first time since 2020.
The team’s four other starters up front are all returning, including guards Quinn Meinerz and Ben Powers.
“The good news for the center most of the time is that he’s working with one of those two players,” coach Sean Payton said during mandatory minicamp. “There are times where he’s isolated, but certainly the experience of those two players helps a lot.”
Meinerz was diplomatic when asked about the team’s center competing, saying all three centers are great linemen.
“We have three great centers,” Meinerz said. “We’ve been kind of interchanging all three of them. It’s going to be really exciting to see during training camp who is going to take that job. I’ve enjoyed playing with all three of them so far in OTAs.”
Forsyth played with rookie quarterback Bo Nix at Oregon in 2022 so if Nix ends up winning the starting job, that might help Forsyth’s chances. Mustipher is the most experienced option, but he does not have the position flexibility of Wattenberg.
It might be difficult for the Broncos to carry all three centers on the 53-man roster this fall, so the competition could have much more than the starting job at stake. If Mustipher doesn’t win the starting role, for example, he probably won’t be a lock to make the active roster.
Denver is expected to begin training camp on July 26. The center competition will heat up during camp and continue into preseason before the final roster is set in August.
Regardless of who wins the position battles, the Broncos will have a new starting QB and a new starting center in Week 1 after moving on from Russell Wilson and letting Cushenberry walk this spring.
