Denver Broncos address roster depth at key position ahead of preseason Week 1 after being rocked by multiple injuries
The Denver Broncos were dangerously thin at the center position after placing Michael Deiter on injured reserve. They held tryouts on Thursday for three players and signed one of them to a contract.
The Denver Broncos addressed their roster depth at a key position heading into Week 1 of the preseason against the Atlanta Falcons. Denver has multiple injuries on the offensive interior at center. The most recent setback forced the team to act quickly before Friday’s game.
The most recent injury to center Michael Dieter landed him on season-ending injured reserve. Dieter suffered a quad injury on Tuesday, leaving just Calvin Throckmorton and undrafted rookie Gavin Ortega as the lone depth at the position.
Starter Luke Wattenberg and backup Alex Forsyth remained sidelined by injuries and are not able to practice at training camp or participate in the preseason opener. That left Denver dangerously thin at center, forcing the team to make a move to ensure they had enough pieces to play.
Denver Broncos sign C Lecitus Smith
On Tuesday, the Broncos tried out three players: Timothy McKay, Gus Zilinskas, and Lecitus Smith. They signed Smith, filling the roster spot Dieter vacated when he was placed on injured reserve. Listed at 6-foot-3 and 319 pounds, Smith is a veteran who has real NFL experience.
The 28-year-old Smith first entered the NFL as a sixth-round draft pick by the Arizona Cardinals in the 2022 NFL Draft out of Virginia Tech. He has appeared in 10 games with four starts across time with three teams, including the Cardinals, New England Patriots, and Green Bay Packers.
What does the signing mean for Denver’s center position?
The Broncos are likely hoping this is just a preseason fill-in and a holdover. You’d like to think that if they were at risk of Wattenberg or Forsyth missing extended time, they would explore other options. That could include moving All-Pro guard Quinn Meinerz to center or trying out fourth-round draft pick Kage Casey at the position.
During the preseason, the depth situation is only a matter of getting through several games. Denver just needs a body in there and doesn’t necessarily need players to be the long-term solution at center. At the same time, the Broncos are likely hoping a player like Smith, who has some NFL experience, can offer them some stability at the position. He hasn’t practiced, but he gives them much-needed depth in short order ahead of Friday’s game.
