Broncos C Lloyd Cushenberry is a potential candidate for a franchise tag.

The Denver Broncos starting center Lloyd Cushenberry is an upcoming unrestricted free agent. Pro Football Focus, a leader in sports analytics, has identified Cushenberry as a possibility for the 2024 franchise tag, a move that might pave the way for a long-term agreement between player and team. “After a difficult beginning to his career, Cushenberry has emerged as one of the NFL’s better centers,” PFF analyst Marcus Mosher wrote on Wednesday. “The 2023 campaign was his best; he played well over 1,000 offensive snaps while only giving up one sack. Cushenberry and the Broncos will probably reach a long-term contract, but don’t be shocked if Denver exercises the tag to extend the negotiation period.”

A 2020 third-round pick, Cushenberry has been a rare constant along Denver’s ever-changing offensive line, starting 57 of a possible 66 games since entering the league. The 26-year-old is coming off a career-best season — his first under Broncos OL coach Zach Strief — during which he graded out as PFF’s 10th-ranked center among 36 qualifiers. “He’s smart. He’s smart and athletic. Those are two good traits, especially if you’re a center,” head coach Sean Payton said last November. “We’re pleased to see him playing as well as he is. He’s a fantastic teammate.” Payton and Co. surely would love to retain Cushenberry, but that venture may prove difficult for a few reasons.

PFF projects that Cushenberry will secure a lucrative deal on the free market, worth $57 million over four years, with $34.25 million certain. The expected cost of a one-year franchise tag for linemen is approximately $21.7 million. Both are benchwarmers for a Broncos team that is almost $24 million above the salary cap; this amount will increase if and when quarterback Russell Wilson is cut byMarch 17. One year after handing out $139.5 million combined to right tackle Mike McGlinchey and left guard Ben Powers, Denver admittedly is forced to tighten its pursestrings, unable or unwilling to allocate such massive resources into a single positional group.

“We won’t be in on the first wave of free agency like we were last year. You can’t do that every year,” general manager George Paton said in January. “We’ll be very strategic and very specific on what positions and what players we try to sign.” Barring extreme cap wizardry, Cushenberry has likely made his final appearance in an orange-and-blue uniform, and the Broncos will be on the hunt for a new pivot man.