Broncos take former player from Chargers ahead of Week 18 showdown between teams

Broncos take former player from Chargers ahead of Week 18 showdown between teams originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Denver Broncos were in need of a new center and they have signed a player away from the Los Angeles Chargers‘ practice squad to help take care of it.

After having to place starting center Luke Wattenberg on injured reserve on Christmas Day, the Broncos were left thin at the position. Wattenberg will have to miss at least four games, meaning he will be out for the team’s first two postseason games, if they make it that far. However, there is a chance he won’t play again this season.

That is a big loss for the Broncos, who signed Wattenberg to a four-year contract extension last month. In his place, the Broncos will start Alex Forsyth, who played well against the Kansas City Chiefs in his first assignment of the season.

But to add depth to the position, the Broncos have signed Sam Mustipher off the practice squad of their division rival. Mustipher spent the 2024 preseason in Denver but was part of the team’s final roster cuts. The Broncos will face the Chargers in the last game of the regular season next Sunday.

Undrafted out of Notre Dame in 2019, Mustipher has played for five NFL teams and had two stints each with the Chargers and Baltimore Ravens. His longest stint was spent with the Chicago Bears, where he played from 2019 to 2022. He has played in 64 games with 43 starts in his career.

That experience is what the Broncos were looking for and his familiarity with the team likely played a significant factor in this move. To make room for him on the 53-man roster, the Broncos waived offensive lineman Calvin Throckmorton. The Broncos will likely bring Throckmorton back to the practice squad as long as he clears waivers.

This is a significant development for the Broncos, who have already played without starting guard Ben Powers for a good chunk of this season. Having to shake up the offensive line right before the playoffs is a less-than-ideal situation, but one the team needs to make the best out of.

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Broncos take former player from Chargers ahead of Week 18 showdown between teams

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