ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Anyone who saw Luke Wattenberg get picked on during his NFL starting debut by the great All Pro Chris Jones of the Kansas City Chiefs might be surprised to see Wattenberg snapping the ball as the Broncos’ starting center today.
It was a late-2022 season game against the Chiefs at Empower Field at Mile High and Wattenberg, a fifth-round rookie from Washington, was starting at left guard for the injured Dalton Risner.
Jones, the NFL’s highest-paid defensive lineman at $31.75 million a year, smelled rookie nerves and took advantage. The game didn’t make it to halftime before Wattenberg was benched.
“That was a tough one,’’ Wattenberg said at his locker Wednesday. “That was a welcome to the NFL moment.”
Wattenberg was in a sense never to be seen along the offensive line again – special teams here and there — until this training camp when he beat out Sam Mustipher and Alex Forsyth for the Broncos’ new starting center position. Give Wattenberg credit for having the intestinal fortitude to hang in there because after his meeting with Jones and then not playing along the front line for more than a year, confidence was an issue.
“It definitely took a hit,’’ Wattenberg said.
How’d he get it back?
“I think this new staff with (offensive line coaches) Zach Strief and Austin King, they really helped build back my confidence and my abilities,’’ Wattenberg said. “It’s been a big piece of my game now, playing with confidence.”
He needs it as the Broncos’ other four offensive line positions are filled with returning starters – left tackle Garett Bolles, left guard Ben Powers, right guard Quinn Meinerz and right tackle Mike McGlinchey. Wattenberg replaces four-year starter Lloyd Cushenberry III at center. Cushenberry became a free agent and signed a $12.5 million-a-year contract with Tennessee.
“It’s more of a mental game at center which I don’t mind,’’ Wattenberg said. “I actually prefer it. It’s a lot of reading defenses and more of a mental game. The guys have been great bringing me along.”
Ring of Famer Johnson dies
Former Broncos quarterback Charley Johnson died Tuesday at age 85, his alma mater New Mexico State announced. Johnson led the Broncos to their first winning season in 1973, an accomplishment that meant so much at the time he was later inducted into the team’s Ring of Fame.
Johnson played for the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1960s before playing for the Houston Oilers and Broncos in the 1970s. In his four years in Denver, Johnson was 20-18-3 as a starter. He had 47 touchdown passes against 40 interceptions in his first three years with the team. The late Floyd Little, a Pro Football Hall of Fame running back for the Broncos, said Johnson was the best quarterback he ever played with.
There are 37 Broncos Ring of Famers and Johnson is the 10th member of that exclusive club who has passed away, following owners Gerald Phipps and Pat Bowlen, head coaches Dan Reeves and Red Miller, and players Goose Gonsoulin, Frank Tripucka, Paul Smith, Jim Turner and Little.
Crum makes it
Undrafted rookie offensive tackle Frank Crum is the first to admit he didn’t have a perfect training camp or preseason. But he showed enough promise for Broncos head coach Sean Payton and general manager George Paton to keep him on their 53-man roster.
“I’m grateful for the belief they have in me,’’ said Crum, a Wyoming product. “To develop is the goal here, as fast as I can. And it’s such a great room to do it in — the offensive line room is great — so I’m excited for the belief and, ‘Let’s go.’ It’s time to develop every day.”
Was he nervous in the hours and days leading up to the final cuts last week?
“You try not to be nervous because it’s out of your control,’’ Crum said. “It’s one of those things — don’t sweat the things you can’t control. But you are sitting there for a while. You can get a little bit nervous.
“Now it’s, another day in the office. The focus right now is every day to get better and develop.”
Bailey rolls in
Broncos’ backup offensive lineman Quinn Bailey was at the team facility to begin rehab and treatment following the gruesome dislocated right ankle injury he suffered early in training camp. Bailey, a Bronco since signing as an undrafted rookie in 2019, is using a walker wheel.
“It was good to get in here and see the guys again,’’ Bailey said.
It’s a 9-month rehab and he hopes to be doing some limited practice by next spring’s OTAs. In the meantime, Bailey and his wife are expecting their second child next month. Their first child is 15 months old and Bailey can’t drive, so much is on Mrs. Bailey at home.
Bronco Bits
The Broncos didn’t have one player on its first injury report of the season. …
Courtland Sutton agreed to convert $11.875 million of his $13 million salary into a bonus, a mathematical maneuver that saved the Broncos $9.5 million in cap space — and helped squeeze in Pat Surtain’s new $96 million deal.
