Last season was rough for Denver Broncos guard Graham Glasgow.
In Week 1, he left the stadium in an ambulance, and he was hospitalized with an irregular heartbeat. He returned in Week 3. However, he suffered a knee injury. Finally, he suffered a broken leg and torn ligaments in Week 9, which forced him to miss the remainder of the season.
On the field, Glasgow was underwhelming. He posted a PFF grade of 65.1, which was his lowest mark since his rookie season. Nevertheless, health likely played a factor in that.
Following the season, Glasgow agreed to a reworked contract. His base salary was reduced from $8.4 million to $3.1 million. He could potentially make $1.4 million back through playing-time incentives.
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Glasgow Breaks Silence on His Pay Cut
Glasgow opened up about taking a pay cut in an interview with Ryan O’Halloran of The Denver Post.
“It just really came down to, I love the area, my wife loves it here, I like playing here and I feel like it was the best option I had coming off the injury I had,” he said. “It’s just the reality of the situation.”
Glasgow is right. Coming off a significant injury, it was unlikely that he would find a better deal on the open market. Now, he has time to recover and get back to his previous level of play.
Glasgow has started 20 games for the Broncos over the past two seasons. Still, the veteran is not guaranteed to hold onto his starting spot.
The Broncos have an abundance of options at guard. Dalton Risner has started 47 games for the Broncos over the past three seasons. 2021 third-round pick Quinn Meinerz played well in Glasgow’s absence. 2020 third-round pick Lloyd Cushenberry III has started 32 games at center.
In addition, Netane Muti and Luke Wattenbery are intriguing young players with upside, and Tom Compton was a starting guard for both the Minnesota Vikings and New York Jets in the past.
In summary, Glasgow will have a lot of competition this offseason, but if he is fully healthy, I still expect him to be a frontrunner to start.
Glasgow Could Move to Center
I would not be surprised if the Broncos moved Glasgow to center. He has experience playing that position. In 2018, Glasgow played 1,074 snaps at center for the Detriot Lions per PFF.
Moving Glasgow to center would allow Meinerz to remain at guard. After showing signs of promise last season, it is hard to envision the coaching staff wanting to bench Meinerz.
Meanwhile, Risner has been good in pass protection. His PFF pass block grade of 73.6 was the 12th-highest among all NFL guards. Benching Risner would not make much sense for a contending team.
An interior offensive line of Risner, Glasgow, and Meinerz makes the most sense on paper, but it is far from set in stone. Cushenberry, in particular, is a player to watch. He is still only 24 years old and carries some upside.
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Broncos Starter Opens Up on Taking Pay Cut