Louis Vasquez Adds Strength, Good Health to Broncos’ Offensive Line

Louis Vasquez speaks to the media following his free agent signing at the teams training facility. (Ron Chenoy-US PRESSWIRE)

The Denver Broncos absolutely had to beef up their offensive line in the off season. With J.D Walton, Chris Kuper, Orlando Franklin, and Ryan Clady all having surgery on varying body parts over the last year, the line had to be addressed in free agency.

That’s why the team signed former San Diego Chargers guard Louis Vasquez to a four-year deal.

“Personality-wise, I think he fits in great with our offense,” offensive coordinator Adam Gase said. “I really like ‘Lou.’ He’s a big dude. He gets his hands on you and can slow you down real quick. I think he’s picking up the offense as quickly as he can and we’re seeing a big improvement from that group.”

During OTA’s, Manny Rameriez has played center with the first team at certain times, and Chris Clark has filled in for Clady at left tackle. Vasquez has been in at right guard. Once Kuper is ready to go, the Broncos will look to move him to left guard so that Vasquez can remain next to Franklin.

“Getting to work alongside Orlando [Franklin] and as of now, Manny [Ramirez], a former college teammate, it’s been real good and comforting as far as having played next to him before and having that previous chemistry,” Vasquez said.

Vasquez has that chemistry with Franklin because he lived with the tackle for a couple of weeks when he first moved to Denver.

“I called him because I knew Manny [Ramirez] was married and he has two kids now, so I didn’t want to just [infringe] on that and with Orlando being a young guy still, I called him and I asked him, ‘Hey, do you have any room and if so, do you mind me staying with you?’ That way I can learn my way around Denver and because I’ll be playing next to him predominantly, so it’s always good to get to know who you’re playing next to.”

Vasquez went on to say that building chemistry off the field is just as important as constructing it on the field.

“They both go hand-in-hand. Once you get both of those down, it’s kind of like you give each other a look and you know what each other is thinking. It’s just one of those deals where you can’t build it overnight.”

With plenty of work still ahead, it sounds like Vasquez is getting off on the right foot. That’s important considering the steep learning curve of a Peyton Manning-led offense, and one that’s set to be run at a much faster pace this year.

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