Broncos agree to four-year, $48 million extension with center Luke Wattenberg, sources confirm

The Broncos have locked up another key member of one of the best-performing offensive lines in football On Tuesday night Denver agreed to a four-year extension with center Luke Wattenberg sources ratified to The Denver Post It s a four-year million extension for Wattenberg a source authenticated with million guaranteed The deal ties Wattenberg with the New Orleans Saints Erik McCoy as the fifth-highest-paid center in the NFL with an average value of million yearly The move comes just a day after head coach Sean Payton stated reporters that he and general manager George Paton had spent time before last week s bye discussing extensions and initiating conversations with a handful of players The key is not affecting the mojo or how your band s doing Payton reported I m reliably sensitive to that especially when you re playing well because sometimes those can be demanding discussions The Broncos clearly moved quick with Wattenberg whose rookie deal was set to expire after the season The crop of available free-agent centers was fairly slim and Wattenberg would ve likely commanded a hefty sum on the open sphere Still Wattenberg s extension if signed as a free agent in the offseason would ve made him the third-highest-paid center in free agency behind the Bears Drew Dalman and the Jaguars Patrick Mekari The -year-old Wattenberg has become an integral part of a Broncos offensive front that now ranks fourth in the NFL in pass-block win rate and ninth in run-block win rate according to ESPN Wattenberg won the starting job prior to the season in his third year in the league authoring a strong year in pass protection in front of rookie quarterback Bo Nix Related Articles Broncos ILB Alex Singleton cleared to practice sources say After putting out feelers could Broncos look for more RB help in J K Dobbins absence Broncos Wil Lutz hopes to finish career in Denver after signing -year extension Broncos coach Sean Payton outlines two issues that could hamper club s chances Broncos Pat Bryant carries weight of lost friends to reach new heights in Denver Loyalty comes first I think you re going to see an ascension Payton mentioned of Wattenberg during minicamp He s exceptionally smart I like his frame He loves football So I think that first year full-time starting is going to benefit him greatly Wattenberg has started all games in surrendering pressures and committing eight penalties The latter figure is second in the NFL among all centers according to Pro Football Focus The deal continues a trend of Broncos leadership locking down its starting offensive line as Denver has committed major money to the front in front of Nix Denver inked All-Pro guard Quinn Meinerz to a four-year million deal in s offseason and followed with an million extension for stalwart left tackle Garett Bolles in December The Broncos now have all five of their starters this year under contract for at least the season and all of them are ranked No or higher at their position in average annual value In fact Wattenberg at million per season would still enter the season as the low man on the pay totem pole if Denver has the same quintet in place Further moves up front are certainly achievable left guard Ben Powers for example does not have any guaranteed money left on his contract after this season and is right now on injured reserve with a torn bicep but Denver has built an enviable collection of talent and a stable foundation up front in fresh years In the months after the Broncos drafted Wattenberg in the fifth round of the draft however it was anything but certain he d play his way into that conversation Wattenberg played five years at the University of Washington but when he got thrown into action at guard during his rookie year he was underpowered and overmatched against quality interior defensive linemen like Tennessee s Jeffery Simmons Wattenberg however worked through his weaknesses built strength and gained Payton s confidence when he was hired as head coach His improvement behind the scenes Payton has announced is part of why the Broncos ultimately let Lloyd Cushenberry leave via free agency after the season Denver needed to keep Cushenberry lost him when Tennessee gave him a million contract over four years Wattenberg s taken the opportunity and run with it He won the starting job over Alex Forsyth in the summer of turned himself into one of the best pass-protecting centers in football built a bond with Nix and now is a central part of Denver s offensive core for years to come Want more Broncos news Sign up for the Broncos Insider to get all our NFL analysis