NFL free agent profile: Center Lloyd Cushenberry III

Should the Broncos bring back Lloyd Cushenberry?

Continuing with the Free Agent profile series, it’s time to switch our attention to some offensive line needs. Since being drafted to Denver in 2020, Center Lloyd Cushenberry has had an interesting year-to-year during his rookie contract. He went from someone who was consistently poor to one of the better centers in the league last year. And, of course, that happened during a contract year. Let’s talk about whether or not the Denver Broncos should re-sign him.

Lloyd Cushenberry III — Center

Age: 26 | Experience: 4 Years (57 games played, 57 starts)

Height and Weight: 6’4 and 315 pounds

Lloyd Cushenberry III was drafted in the 3rd round (83 overall) in the 2020 NFL draft after forgoing his Senior year of college. During his time at LSU, he was named to the All-SEC team and was a member of the offensive line that won the 2019 Joe Moore Award for the top offensive line in the country.

Entering his rookie season with fairly high expectations, Lloyd Cushenberry would earn the starting job over Austin Schlottmann and Patrick Morris and would serve as the replacement for former center Connor McGovern.

His first couple of seasons can be described as underwhelming. He was a liability in the run game and wasn’t the best decision-maker in the passing game. And in his third season, he would be placed on the IR with a groin injury after playing the first eight games. The team would refrain from activating off of the IR as the Broncos felt more comfortable with Graham Glasgow at center.

But everything changed in the 2023 season when Cushenberry turned into a center who took command of the line of scrimmage, was good in the running game, and hardly gave up even a pressure in the passing game. And that has made this offseason interesting.

Why re-signing Cushenberry makes sense

Lloyd Cushenberry was consistently one of the better pass-blocking centers in the league.

And there’s more proof from PFF as his grade of 73.2 ranked him 10th among all centers.

Lloyd Cushenberry is also, at least based on what we saw in 2023, clearly the best option the Broncos have at this position heading into next season. And while I do think that Alex Forsyth could be a good option (I believe he’s better than Luke Wattenberg), it will likely take a meaningful period of time to get Forsyth up to Cushenberry’s level.

Why re-signing Cushenberry doesn’t make sense

Obviously, the main reason why the Broncos shouldn’t re-sign Cushenberry is the price tag that will likely be attached to him. His performance and the attention that he will attract from other teams that need a center will give him power at the bargaining table, and the Broncos simply don’t have that much money to spend in free agency this year. PFF projects a possible contract for Cushenberry to break the $57 million mark. And currently, the Broncos sit at $16,811,078 over the salary cap.

Another worry is based on his performance history. While he did have a great 2023, he did nothing to deserve a big contract in the three years leading up to this point. The Broncos, and any other team that would seek to sign Cushenberry, will be banking all of their hopes on the film of just one season of work.

Final thoughts

Lloyd Cushenberry is a solid starting center and I would say that he is the best center on the free agent market this year. He would be a great asset for the Broncos to have next year, but his price tag will likely make re-signing him a near-impossibility.

I think the Broncos will likely choose to move on and turn to either the draft or to Alex Forsyth if I had to guess.