The Denver Broncos may have just found their Lloyd Cushenberry replacement.
The Broncos are signing veteran center Sam Mustipher to a one-year deal, according to a report from the Denver Post‘s Parker Gabriel. The team officially announced the signing shortly after Gabriel’s report.
Sam Mustipher is the brother of defensive lineman P.J. Mustipher, who spent part of last season on Denver’s practice squad before leavning to join the New Orleans Saints. P.J. now plays for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Mustipher (6-2, 332 pounds) entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of Notre Dame with the Chicago Bears in 2019. After spending his rookie season on Chicago’s practice squad, Mustipher started seven games in 2020 followed by 17 starts in 2021 and 16 starts in 2022.
The Bears let Mustipher walk in free agency last year and he signed with the Baltimore Ravens. The 27-year-old lineman dressed for nine games in 2023, earning two starts.
In 2022 — his last year as a full-time starter — Mustipher was penalized four times and allowed two sacks, according to Pro Football Focus.
Denver will need a new center in 2024 after losing Cushenberry to the Tennessee Titans during free agency. Mustipher will likely compete with Alex Forsyth and Luke Wattenberg for the center job this summer.
Forsyth was inactive for all 17 games as a rookie last season and Wattenberg has just one career start (at guard). Given that he has 42 starts on his resume, Mustipher might be the early favorite to start in Week 1.
We are tracking all of the team’s free agency moves on Broncos Wire.
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