Broncos Designate C Luke Wattenberg to Return From IR Ahead of Patriots Game

The Broncos are loading up for the Patriots on Sunday in a game for all the AFC marbles.

October 19, 2025: Denver Broncos center Luke Wattenberg (60) makes a line call in the second half of the football game between the Denver Broncos and New York Giants. | Derek Regensburger / IMAGO / Zuma Press Wire

Over the past two days, the Denver Broncos have designated two key players to return from injured reserve. It started with running back J.K. Dobbins, and we learned on Wednesday that Denver has opened center Luke Wattenberg's 21-day practice window as well.

Both players are starters at their respective positions. Having them back at practice on Wednesday had to be huge for the Broncos' offense, even if the team is still easing them into things.

Dobbins has been on injured reserve since early November, after he suffered a lisfranc injury (foot) against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 10. Rookie RJ Harvey has done most of the heavy lifting since Dobbins went down, though the running back touches have also been split with Jaleel McLaughlin and Tyler Badie.

Wattenberg suffered a shoulder injury in the Broncos' Week 15 win over the Green Bay Packers. This was the first week he was eligible to return from IR, and the Broncos pulled the trigger immediately, which is a good sign.

Dobbins has technically been eligible to return since that Packers game, but he hasn't been healthy enough to return to practice until this week. How close is he to 100%? Time will tell, but the possibilities for this offense are exciting.

"J.K. is a huge energy piece for our team," Broncos right tackle McGlinchey said on Tuesday. "I'll leave all this discussion up to the trainers and the staff on that. But he's obviously a huge piece of what we've done, an incredibly great teammate. He's been working his butt off to be able to have a chance to get back. Incredibly, incredibly important to what we've been doing. Obviously, still incredibly confident in no matter who is playing running back for us, but yeah, in terms of J.K., it would be a great boost if he's healthy." 

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Denver Broncos running back J.K. Dobbins (27) runs the ball in the second quarter of the NFL Week 4 Monday Night Football game between the Denver Broncos and the Cincinnati Bengals at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver on Monday, Sept. 29, 2025. | Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The return of these two starters would be advantageous for the Broncos. However, just because the team opened up their practice window doesn't mean they'll actually be activated for the AFC championship game vs. the New England Patriots.

Last week, the Broncos started the clock on linebacker Drew Sanders and tight end Lucas Krull, both of whom returned to practice at the beginning of the week. However, neither was activated for Saturday's game vs. the Buffalo Bills.

I'm hopeful that both Dobbins and Wattenberg will be activated by Sunday, though. There's a reason the Broncos are starting their clocks now and not next week.

If the Broncos were to win this game, a player returning from IR would get two weeks to get up to speed before the Super Bowl. That would be nice for a player coming off a multi-week recovery.

However, if the Broncos didn't have some confidence that Dobbins and Wattenberg could be healthy enough to be activated, I'm not sure they would have been designated to return this week. Then again, if the Broncos were unsure but hopeful, they'd have nothing to lose by opening their practice window now, since the NFL's 21-day activation deadline would stretch to the end of the season.

Clear as mud. But I'm ever the optimist.

The possible return of both players is timely. With Bo Nix out for the remainder of the season, the Broncos can use all the playmaking ability they can get, and Dobbins is the team's leading rusher.

Dobbins' 772 rushing yards when he went down ranked top-5 in the NFL at the time. He was on pace for well over 1,000 yards before the injury. Jarrett Stidham's first start in two years might go a whole lot better if he has one of the NFL's best ball carriers (when healthy) at his back.

Wattenberg is no different. Alex Forsyth has stepped in at center since Wattenberg went down, but he suffered an ankle injury in Saturday's win over the Bills. Sam Mustipher has filled in admirably as the No. 3 center, but getting their starter back would be a shot in the arm for the Broncos, and no small comfort to Stidham.

We'll monitor the practice reports each day and provide any updates as this situation unfolds.