For the Denver Broncos, the news on the injury front has gotten slightly better as the week unfolds. They’ve lost quarterback Bo Nix with a broke ankle, of course, but the Broncos opened up a practice window for running back J.K. Dobbins on Monday, and today they did the same for center Luke Wattenberg, who suffered a shoulder injury during Denver’s Week 16 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
This update, which was written by Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk but reported by multiple other outlets, is more important than it seems. The Broncos have plenty of depth on the offensive line, and the backups have filled in admirably. But Wattenberg is a veteran who can help quarterback Jarrett Stidham with snap counts and line adjustments, and he’s been making those calls for most of the season.
Stidham will need all the help he can get with this. This Sunday’s opponent, the New England Patriots, blitzed Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud relentlessly, and Stroud often looked like he didn’t know where the pressure was coming from. That’s another area where Wattenberg can help, and the Broncos are hoping he’s up for a full go this weekend.
Overall, Wattenerg is one of the Broncos’ biggest success stories. Denver drafted him in the fifth round out of Washington back in 2022, but it took him a while to break into the lineup. He played in just one game in his first two seasons, according to Williams, then won the starting job in 2024 and started 13 games that year.
His durability extended into this year before the shoulder injury, as Wattenberg started another 15 games and played every snap. The Broncos rewarded him with an extension during the bye week in November as they did the same for many of their key players, and Wattenberg’s deal was for four year, $48 million, with $27 million guaranteed.
As important as it will be for the center to help Stidham, the Broncos have other concerns here. New England’s interior rushers, tackles Christian Barmore and Milton Williams, have both size and power, and both have shown the ability to be game-wreckers.
Getting Wattenberg back would help stabilize the line, and it could also help Denver produce more in the run game, especially if Dobbins returns from his foot injury. The Broncos are decided underdogs going into this one, and they’ll need to protect Stidham and succeed on the ground to have a chance in this one.