After spending the last four games on injured reserve with an ankle injury, Denver Broncos center Luke Wattenberg was activated to the 53-man roster on Saturday, the team announced.
Denver had room for Wattenberg on the active roster after trading outside linebacker Baron Browning to the Arizona Cardinals earlier this week.
Broncos coach Sean Payton now has to make a tough decision for the starting lineup ahead of Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Wattenberg started the first five games of the year and Alex Forsyth started the last four games while Wattenberg was sidelined. Denver will have to decide between going back to the original starter or sticking with the center who has played well in his absence.
Perhaps helping Forsyth’s case is the fact that he played with quarterback Bo Nix at Oregon.
“Alex was right there with the center battle during training camp, and obviously he and Bo have a good relationship,” offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi said on Oct. 10. “That’s always important with centers and quarterbacks.”
Wattenberg is a former fifth-round draft pick who has one year remaining on his contract. Forysth was picked by the Broncos in the seventh round of last year’s draft and he has two years left on his deal.
We probably won’t get an answer on who Denver plans to start until the first snap on Sunday.