The Denver Broncos announced on Thursday that they have signed former Baltimore Ravens center Sam Mustipher to a one-year contract.

The 27-year-old spent last season in Baltimore and appeared in nine games on both offense and special teams.

Mustipher was undrafted out of Notre Dame in 2019 and signed with the Chicago Bears. He spent four seasons there, including two years as the full-time starter. Mustipher will now join Alex Forsyth and Luke Wattenberg as Denver’s options at center and can fill in on the interior offensive line to add depth.

Mustipher is a Baltimore-area native who was born in Owings Mills and. played high school ball at Our Lady of Good Counsel in Olney, Maryland, before leaving for Notre Dame in 2014.

According to 9NEWS Denver’s Mike Klis, the Denver Broncos have signed former Bears and Ravens veteran center Sam Mustipher to a one-year deal. He is the older brother of Broncos former undrafted rookie P.J. Mustipher who was with the team through training camp last year.

The former Notre Dame center went undrafted during the 2019 draft and would end up signing as an undrafted free agent with the Chicago Bears. He would play for the Bears for three seasons where he appeared in 43 career games for them which included 40 starts. He would start 7 games his rookie year and then was the Bears’ starting center the next two seasons. This past season, he served as a backup for the Baltimore Ravens and appeared in just 9 games which included 2 starts. Now he joins a Broncos team that is without a starting center and he will be competing with Alex Forsyth and Luke Wattenberg for that starting job.

This is a solid move by the Broncos who are bringing in a veteran player with 40 career starts under his belt. Luke Wattenberg has primarily been a backup while Alex Forsyth was a healthy scratch his entire rookie year. So, Mustipher gives them an experienced and veteran option to lean on if neither of the two younger players can win the job this offseason.

This is the third veteran reserve offensive lineman the Broncos have signed this offseason. They have signed former Giants tackle Matt Peart and former Saints starter Calvin Throckmorton all in recent weeks. Reserve players who have starting experience under their belt who should add some much-needed depth and length to their offensive line.

These additions seem to point to the team not drafting an offensive lineman in the draft, barring the team drafting a left tackle early and then trading Garett Bolles. They have signed their potential veteran swing tackle, a guard who has played and started for Sean Payton in the past, and now a veteran center who could be the Broncos starter this season. So, I think we will see them address other areas of need in the draft, again, barring a surprise Bolles trade.