[Klis] Per source, Broncos have reached 4-years extension with center Luke Wattenberg.
November 26, 2025
[Klis] Per source, Broncos have reached 4-years extension with center Luke Wattenberg.
43 comments
Well thats cool but what about JFM
Oh shit, wow. Alright, go Broncos
I’m actually bummed out about this one. I don’t think Wattenberg is very good. He constantly snaps the ball too high and gets quite a lot of flags thrown his way.
First L of the front office in a long time
Bro needs to work on his snap
Wattenberg’s a good starter and all but dude is NOT worth a 4-year deal. Congrats to him tho.
We made him the 6/7th highest paid center
There’s a significant drop off at 8 as well as it dips below 10 a year
I think this is an overpay but I guess our front office didn’t like the centers available in free agency or coming up in the draft and didn’t want to mess with the oline
It’s like the broncos got mad they couldn’t sign Pierce or Cooks and just threw money at the first guy that they saw after the bye week.
Can’t say i saw this coming tbh
I’m a little puzzled by this one with 4 years. He’s easily the weak link on the line and at his absolute best is average. Maybe a cheap deal? Maybe average is all we need if we are looking for pure continuity in the offensive line.
4 years, $48m. Let’s wait to see the contract details. This deal seems a little rich for me considering he’s the weak link on the Oline
Great news and all for it. Well done, Broncos, and congrats, Luke.
Now this is where our GM shines. Early signings. We don’t lose guys. This is where Paton is top in the league. Amazing job!!
Not sure how I feel about this. I’ve thought center was somewhere we definitely needed an upgrade.
I never saw his value, but there was a pundit recently who was raving about him. Can’t remember who it was offhand tho.
Meh reaction for me. Finding elite ol is tough, especially center, i think we could have done better at the position, but i guess if this front office likes him, then wtf do i know.
Madden brained me thinks we could have saved the money for JFM or even an elite wr that we possibly trade for 🤷🏼♂️
Most teams have a shit OLine i think this is good
For everyone complaining, he’s allowed 0 sacks.
I am somewhat surprised by this but at the same time keeping this Oline together seems like a good idea. This also makes draft strategy easier not having another need on offense
Gahleee
Now do McMillian!👊🏼
12 million a year good god
I was just looking into possible extension candidates this week without realizing it was also the bye.
Pretty surprised by this one, but I’m not bummed about it. I thought they might roll with Forsythe/rookie next year. I’m interested to see the guaranteed money…has anyone seen that yet?
I thought Roach and Strnad might be the best extension candidates.
I don’t have enough knowledge to compare Roach and DJ Jones, but Roach has been approaching DJJ snap counts and Jones makes significantly more. I’m kinda surprised they extended Jones (age) and I’m curious to see what they do with Roach (young, playing well, glue guy). I’ll love for someone with ball knowledge to breakdown the two. But I’m fearful to see Roach walk.
Strnad seems like a reasonable extension candidate at the right price, because I’d hate to walk into the draft being forced to fill that hole. I’d be happy to see an ILB pick, but think the flexibility of it possibly being a guy who needs a bit of development is nice. I think Strnad has played well the last two years but he might get more elsewhere.
I don’t know that there’s a whole lot of cap room left next year for too many more major moves, but I could be wrong.
Edit: *27mil guaranteed*. He’s basically making top 5 C type money. This strongly feels like an overpay. They must really like him. I don’t think I’ll like this if it means Den can’t afford to keep Palczewski.
Such a smart move. The only center Bo has played with and one of the best starting five units in the NFL. Keep a strength a strength. He will likely be 8-10 highest paid at the position after the offseason…another Paton master class.
I mean, elite interior lineman normally take a few years to reach potential, keep the core together while the window is open, spend the first round pick on a DE or a WR next year
we were all in agreement no one liked Cushenberry, and I would say Wattenberg doesn’t get talked about much, most likely because he’s doing a good job.
Can’t say I like this. He started poorly and has been better of late. But not anything to get excited about. Another JAG
0 sacks, 1 hit allowed, 9 hurries, 10 pressure.
8 penalties, 728 snaps.
20th overall grade according to pff
14th pass blocking
15th run blocking
6th in snaps
Idk, looks like an unpopular opinion I guess but I like this signing. Wattenberg isn’t the best by any means but he’s part of the best OLine unit in the league and continuity is way more important than taking a chance on a guy in the draft or bringing in anyone else who would be available via trade or free agency. Plus it’s only 2 years guaranteed which is the perfect amount of time to draft his replacement to be ready to go by the time Bo is up for his extension.
I would have rather drafted someone like Connor Lew but obviously can’t assume you would get him even if the team wanted him. At his best I think Luke is an average center. I’m guessing this means Powers is going to be a cap casualty.
Keeping the OL together makes sense. The real
Question is how many years are guaranteed
Fuck ya. That’s a good sign.
This subreddit has a lot of armchair GMs.
1. College prospects are never guaranteed. Even if it’s a good class, that doesn’t always translate to proven ability.
1a. If they don’t draft a center, this means they can draft elsewhere…
2. Everyone knows that the Broncos are built from the inside out. Thus they’re putting their money where their mouth is.
3. It’ll be interesting to see how the contract is structured. $27 guaranteed isn’t bad at all. And the cap will only continue to increase.
Let’s take a breath. This team is 9-2, and whether or not you want to admit it, Wattenberg is a big part of that. Literally hasn’t missed a snap this season. I wanted JFM to stay too, but don’t take that out on Luke.
Fk it we ball 🏀
NICE! Taking care of their good people!
I’m surprised we kept Luke given he’s middle of the pack and the 2nd most penalized center in the NFL with 8 this year. Must be working well with the guards.
He’s not that good tho…
If Shawn likes the way him and Bo work then it probably makes sense to keep them paired
THANK YOU GEORGE PATON
Dobbins extension next please 🙏🏼
Why 😭 he’s boots bro
It seems like some forget that not so long ago Lloyd Cushenberry was entrenched as the Broncos starter at Center. Cush signed as a free agent with the Titans in 2024 after playing every snap for Denver the previous season. Then remember back to Cush’s first couple seasons, most would agree he was OK but wasn’t that great.
Wattenberg has only been the Center since when Cush left. If he remains healthy he’s going to grow into a much better player over the course of this extension.
In the sense that taking uncertainties off the table helps focus attention on other needs its good. For this cost it feels too high, but it’s not a disaster. He’s a good center, he’s 28 yo, and he’s familiar with our system so even if it’s an overpay we’re still getting some value. Feels like spending $50 on a good cheeseburger at a resort on vacation.
Being mad about maybe, potentially overpaying your center because he’s the weak link on the offense line despite allowing 0 sacks and committing only 5 penalties is definitely a good problem to have. On his own he’s probably an average center but when he’s surrounded by good to great players like he currently is, he performs well above average. So yes it’s an overpay but it’s also a safety net signing knowing we can focus free agent dollars and high value draft picks elsewhere. Which might still end up going towards IOL since we may move on from Ben Powers after this season, making preserving the rest of the offensive line even more important.
43 comments
Well thats cool but what about JFM
Oh shit, wow. Alright, go Broncos
I’m actually bummed out about this one. I don’t think Wattenberg is very good. He constantly snaps the ball too high and gets quite a lot of flags thrown his way.
First L of the front office in a long time
Bro needs to work on his snap
Wattenberg’s a good starter and all but dude is NOT worth a 4-year deal. Congrats to him tho.
We made him the 6/7th highest paid center
There’s a significant drop off at 8 as well as it dips below 10 a year
I think this is an overpay but I guess our front office didn’t like the centers available in free agency or coming up in the draft and didn’t want to mess with the oline
It’s like the broncos got mad they couldn’t sign Pierce or Cooks and just threw money at the first guy that they saw after the bye week.
Can’t say i saw this coming tbh
I’m a little puzzled by this one with 4 years. He’s easily the weak link on the line and at his absolute best is average. Maybe a cheap deal? Maybe average is all we need if we are looking for pure continuity in the offensive line.
4 years, $48m. Let’s wait to see the contract details. This deal seems a little rich for me considering he’s the weak link on the Oline
Great news and all for it. Well done, Broncos, and congrats, Luke.
Now this is where our GM shines. Early signings. We don’t lose guys. This is where Paton is top in the league. Amazing job!!
Not sure how I feel about this. I’ve thought center was somewhere we definitely needed an upgrade.
I never saw his value, but there was a pundit recently who was raving about him. Can’t remember who it was offhand tho.
Meh reaction for me. Finding elite ol is tough, especially center, i think we could have done better at the position, but i guess if this front office likes him, then wtf do i know.
Madden brained me thinks we could have saved the money for JFM or even an elite wr that we possibly trade for 🤷🏼♂️
Most teams have a shit OLine i think this is good
For everyone complaining, he’s allowed 0 sacks.
I am somewhat surprised by this but at the same time keeping this Oline together seems like a good idea. This also makes draft strategy easier not having another need on offense
Gahleee
Now do McMillian!👊🏼
12 million a year good god
I was just looking into possible extension candidates this week without realizing it was also the bye.
Pretty surprised by this one, but I’m not bummed about it. I thought they might roll with Forsythe/rookie next year. I’m interested to see the guaranteed money…has anyone seen that yet?
I thought Roach and Strnad might be the best extension candidates.
I don’t have enough knowledge to compare Roach and DJ Jones, but Roach has been approaching DJJ snap counts and Jones makes significantly more. I’m kinda surprised they extended Jones (age) and I’m curious to see what they do with Roach (young, playing well, glue guy). I’ll love for someone with ball knowledge to breakdown the two. But I’m fearful to see Roach walk.
Strnad seems like a reasonable extension candidate at the right price, because I’d hate to walk into the draft being forced to fill that hole. I’d be happy to see an ILB pick, but think the flexibility of it possibly being a guy who needs a bit of development is nice. I think Strnad has played well the last two years but he might get more elsewhere.
I don’t know that there’s a whole lot of cap room left next year for too many more major moves, but I could be wrong.
Edit: *27mil guaranteed*. He’s basically making top 5 C type money. This strongly feels like an overpay. They must really like him. I don’t think I’ll like this if it means Den can’t afford to keep Palczewski.
Such a smart move. The only center Bo has played with and one of the best starting five units in the NFL. Keep a strength a strength. He will likely be 8-10 highest paid at the position after the offseason…another Paton master class.
I mean, elite interior lineman normally take a few years to reach potential, keep the core together while the window is open, spend the first round pick on a DE or a WR next year
we were all in agreement no one liked Cushenberry, and I would say Wattenberg doesn’t get talked about much, most likely because he’s doing a good job.
Can’t say I like this. He started poorly and has been better of late. But not anything to get excited about. Another JAG
0 sacks, 1 hit allowed, 9 hurries, 10 pressure.
8 penalties, 728 snaps.
20th overall grade according to pff
14th pass blocking
15th run blocking
6th in snaps
Idk, looks like an unpopular opinion I guess but I like this signing. Wattenberg isn’t the best by any means but he’s part of the best OLine unit in the league and continuity is way more important than taking a chance on a guy in the draft or bringing in anyone else who would be available via trade or free agency. Plus it’s only 2 years guaranteed which is the perfect amount of time to draft his replacement to be ready to go by the time Bo is up for his extension.
I would have rather drafted someone like Connor Lew but obviously can’t assume you would get him even if the team wanted him. At his best I think Luke is an average center. I’m guessing this means Powers is going to be a cap casualty.
Keeping the OL together makes sense. The real
Question is how many years are guaranteed
Fuck ya. That’s a good sign.
This subreddit has a lot of armchair GMs.
1. College prospects are never guaranteed. Even if it’s a good class, that doesn’t always translate to proven ability.
1a. If they don’t draft a center, this means they can draft elsewhere…
2. Everyone knows that the Broncos are built from the inside out. Thus they’re putting their money where their mouth is.
3. It’ll be interesting to see how the contract is structured. $27 guaranteed isn’t bad at all. And the cap will only continue to increase.
Let’s take a breath. This team is 9-2, and whether or not you want to admit it, Wattenberg is a big part of that. Literally hasn’t missed a snap this season. I wanted JFM to stay too, but don’t take that out on Luke.
Fk it we ball 🏀
NICE! Taking care of their good people!
I’m surprised we kept Luke given he’s middle of the pack and the 2nd most penalized center in the NFL with 8 this year. Must be working well with the guards.
He’s not that good tho…
If Shawn likes the way him and Bo work then it probably makes sense to keep them paired
THANK YOU GEORGE PATON
Dobbins extension next please 🙏🏼
Why 😭 he’s boots bro
It seems like some forget that not so long ago Lloyd Cushenberry was entrenched as the Broncos starter at Center. Cush signed as a free agent with the Titans in 2024 after playing every snap for Denver the previous season. Then remember back to Cush’s first couple seasons, most would agree he was OK but wasn’t that great.
Wattenberg has only been the Center since when Cush left. If he remains healthy he’s going to grow into a much better player over the course of this extension.
In the sense that taking uncertainties off the table helps focus attention on other needs its good. For this cost it feels too high, but it’s not a disaster. He’s a good center, he’s 28 yo, and he’s familiar with our system so even if it’s an overpay we’re still getting some value. Feels like spending $50 on a good cheeseburger at a resort on vacation.
Being mad about maybe, potentially overpaying your center because he’s the weak link on the offense line despite allowing 0 sacks and committing only 5 penalties is definitely a good problem to have. On his own he’s probably an average center but when he’s surrounded by good to great players like he currently is, he performs well above average. So yes it’s an overpay but it’s also a safety net signing knowing we can focus free agent dollars and high value draft picks elsewhere. Which might still end up going towards IOL since we may move on from Ben Powers after this season, making preserving the rest of the offensive line even more important.
The man is bodacious