PITTSFORD — After a touchdown catch, tight end Jackson Hawes turned and handed the ball to center Lloyd Cushenberry III, who was trotting in his direction.
Cushenberry grabbed the ball and spiked it into the turf, the ball taking an odd bounce off the rain-soaked turf and smacking Hawes in the face. Neither seemed to care, as a smile could be seen through Cushenberry's facemask.
He's having fun again after a frustrating couple seasons. The last two seasons should have been exciting for Cushenberry. The former 2020 third-round pick hit free agency after spending his first four seasons with the Denver Broncos .
And he struck it big.
The Tennessee Titans awarded Cushenberry a four-year, $50 million contract, one of the richest for a center in NFL history. What should have been exciting became a nightmare.
Cushenberry tore his Achilles tendon 8 ¾ games into 2024. He worked doggedly to return for Week 1 in 2025, only to play most of the season with a left torn shoulder labrum and then had a foot injury late in the season.
The Titans fired coach Brian Callahan and replaced him with Robert Saleh after the season. Cushenberry was released Feb. 25 and signed with the Bills a month later on a one-year deal to be the backup for Pro Bowler and recently-extended Connor McGovern .
"Honestly, it's been a tough journey," Cushenberry told GNN Sports after practice Monday. "Dealing with the injuries and then also there's personal stuff as well. But I'm just grateful to be on the other side of that and get an opportunity here. Kind of just start back on the bottom of the totem pole and work my way up."
Cushenberry loves the way McGovern plays. Not long ago, they were similar players. Cushenberry was immediately named a team captain in Tennessee and played every snap of 2024 until a third-and-10 play with 6:12 left in the third quarter of a Week 9 game against the New England Patriots .
There were Patriots lined up on both of his shoulders. At the snap, Cushenberry took Keion White , who crossed his face at the snap. Cushenberry passed him off to left guard Peter Skoronski as Daniel Ekuale looped around on a stunt.
Cushenberry held his ground. But as he tried to set his base, Cushenberry's left leg buckled and hit the turf. As Cushenberry rehabbed that winter — with extra added fuel knowing the Broncos were Tennessee's Week 1 opponent — his mother, Debbie, was undergoing chemotherapy treatments for breast cancer.
By Aug. 11, 2025, Cushenberry returned to practice and was in the lineup Week 1. When the torn labrum happened, Cushenberry knew it was coming.
He felt something lingering in his shoulder, but he didn't want to get an MRI. That could take him out of action and Cushenberry wasn't about to miss time after working so hard to come back from his Achilles tear.
A foot injury ultimately cost him a game near the end of the season, but Cushenberry played the remainder of the season with a torn labrum. It progressively worsened and he lost some of his power.
He had surgery on it during the offseason and wore a red non-contact jersey throughout the spring.
"Everything happened for a reason," Cushenberry said. "My mindset coming off the Achilles — as soon as it happened — I was like, 'I'm going to be back for Week 1. And then we found out we were playing Denver, my old team, I was like, 'OK, now I really got to be back for Week 1.' I probably rushed it, but I wouldn't change anything."
Cushenberry's new coach, Joe Brady, was his play-caller on the 2019 LSU national championship team. But Cushenberry confirmed he signed with the Bills because it was the best offer he received.
Sure, that means going into the season as a backup. And he's learning to play guard for the first time, something that could help him make the final roster because the Bills also have Alec Anderson and Austin Corbett who can play both positions.
But the 28-year-old has been an underdog before. Including at LSU, where he redshirted as a freshman and only saw spot duty during his second season before becoming a starter in his third season and a first-team All-SEC selection in his fourth.
"Never had an ego," Cushenberry said. "I was one of the last recruits to get offered at LSU. So I've never been a big-head guy, like I'm the man. It hasn't really been an adjustment. This group, you watch them going far, they've been together for a while … it's easy to just follow their lead. And man, I'm just trying to do whatever I can to be here."
