Denver Broncos left guard Ben Powers was rumored to be on the trade block, and there was some talk that the Broncos could be asking him to take a pay cut. These rumors heated up earlier tonight when it was announced that reserve linemen Alex Palczewski signed a two-year deal to stay with the team.
However, that talk was short-lived after 9NEWS Denver’s Mike Klis reported that the Denver Broncos are not trading, releasing, or asking LG Ben Powers to take a pay cut. He will be back and once again be the starting left guard for the Broncos.
Ben Powers signed with the Broncos during Sean Payton’s first season with the Broncos and has been a mainstay at left guard for them. He will be entering his fourth season with the team and has played in 42 games for the Broncos during his three seasons with the team. However, he was limited to just 8 games this past season after suffering an injury that sidelined him for a couple of months. While he was sidelined, reserve linemen Alex Palczewski filled in for him and did rather well. Due to this, and him recently re-signing with the team, some assumed that Powers could be on the move. However, both players are staying, which keeps the Broncos’ offensive line depth fairly deep moving forward.
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Also, continuity matters.
Four of the Broncos’ five starting offensive linemen have been together for three seasons. Center Luke Wattenberg is the newcomer here, and he will be entering his third season as a starter. This is a top-ranked offensive line, and keeping them together will keep them that way moving forward. On top of that, Alex Palczewski’s return brings back their 6th offensive linemen, while Alex Forsyth and Frank Crum are right now, projected to return as backups as well.
Again, continuity matters.
Before Sean Payton was hired, the offensive line was a mess, and we had a revolving door at multiple positions, especially at right tackle. In his first offseason with the team, Payton and the Broncos signed Ben Powers and Mike McGlinchey, developed Luke Wattenberg, and brought out the best in Garett Bolles and Quinn Meinerz. They since added backup center Alex Forsyth in the 7th round and found two undrafted gems in Alex Palczewski and Frank Crum.
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If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. That’s what the Broncos are doing with their offensive line. They do a great job of protecting QB Bo Nix, who rarely gets sacked or even hit, and were blocking for a top-five runner in JK Dobbins before he went down with an injury. The Broncos’ Super Bowl window is wide open, and they will need their offensive line to continue to play at a high-level if they want to achieve their goals of hoisting the Lombardi Trophy.
Keeping the unit together is the correct decision.
