Report: Broncos' Cushenberry Could Net $10M/Year in Free Agency
Denver Broncos center Lloyd Cushenberry is primed to become one of the NFL's highest-paid pivots when free agency opens next week, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported.
"One of the best centers available after playing solid in Denver, he could hit the $10 million-per-year mark," Fowler wrote Sunday, adding that Cushenberry is gaining "buzz" ahead of the league's signing period.
The $10 million annual figure differs greatly from previous estimates — Pro Football Focus in December predicted a four-year, $57.1 million contract, or $14.25 million per year — but it will nonetheless be a significant raise on the $2.743 million he made in 2023, vaulting him into the top-seven richest at his position.
Cushenberry, 27, has started 57 games for the Broncos since joining the club as a 2020 third-round pick out of LSU. He's coming off a career year in which he finished as PFF's 10th-ranked center among 36 qualifiers, earning plus grades in run-blocking and pass protection.
Speaking at the Scouting Combine in February, general manager George Paton expressed an interest in re-signing Cushenberry — but conceded that his replacement is waiting in the wings.
"We really value Lloyd and thought he had one of his best seasons," Paton said. "We’d love to have Lloyd back but then what’s behind Lloyd? We feel we feel good about [C Luke] Wattenberg. We feel really good about [C Alex] Forsyth. We feel like there’s depth. That doesn’t mean we’re not going to sign Lloyd. We’d love to sign him, but we do feel like that’s a position we do have the depth and one of those guys could be a starter eventually.”
With Denver already over the salary cap and now eating millions in dead money with the Russell Wilson release, the chances of re-upping Cushenberry are minuscule, creating yet another hole on a roster full of them.
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