The Denver Broncos will have a new center for at least the next four weeks — and possibly the remainder of the season — after Lloyd Cushenberry was placed on injured reserve Tuesday, the team announced.
In a corresponding transaction, Denver elevated safety Anthony Harris from the practice squad to the 53-man active roster.
A 2020 third-round draft pick, Cushenberry has been a mainstay along the Broncos' offensive line, starting 40 of a possible 41 games while playing every offensive snap each of the past two seasons. But a groin injury suffered in Denver's Week 8 win over Jacksonville will sideline the iron man blocker through November.
"Lloyd—he is going to miss some time with a groin strain. ... We will be without [him] for a couple of weeks," head coach Nathaniel Hackett confirmed on Nov. 1.
Cushenberry, 24, currently ranks as Pro Football Focus' No. 29 C among 38 qualifiers, drawing an especially poor run-blocking grade (52.7). Considered by many an offensive weak link — and often dominated at the point-of-attack — he's charged with 16 blown blocks and two sacks allowed across 469 snaps this year, per Sports Information Solutions.
Perhaps not coincidentally, the Broncos OL performed better in the second half against the Jaguars, when veteran Graham Glasgow replaced Cushenberry at the pivot.
Glasgow is entrenched as the Lou Gehrig to Cushenberry's Wally Pipp, with rookie center Luke Wattenberg also receiving a push up the proverbial pyramid.
“We’ll train both of them, but I think Graham really did a nice job," Hackett said Monday. "He stepped in. I give Graham so much credit this whole season. [Going] all the way [back] to that first game in Seattle, he had to jump in and play guard. He’s played guard, now he’s played center. He’s been all over the place, and he hasn’t skipped a beat. It’d be good to get him going at center."
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