Sports analytics giant Pro Football Focus has identified Denver Broncos starting center Lloyd Cushenberry, an impending unrestricted free agent, as a candidate for the 2024 franchise tag — a maneuver that could bridge a long-term extension between player and team.

“Cushenberry has turned himself into one of the better centers in the NFL after a rough start to his career,” PFF analyst Marcus Mosher wrote Wednesday. “The 2023 season was his best, allowing just one sack despite playing well over 1,000 snaps on offense. The Broncos and Cushenberry will likely come to a long-term agreement but don’t be surprised if Denver uses the tag to give them more time to get a deal done.”

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.

Cushenberry is projected to net a lucrative deal on the open market: $57 million over four years, including $34.25 million guaranteed, according to PFF. And the one-year franchise tag for linemen is estimated to cost roughly $21.7 million.

Both are non-starters for a Broncos club nearly $24 million over the salary cap, a number set to be compounded if (when) quarterback Russell Wilson is released by March 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.