For Quinn Meinerz, the best season of his career isn’t enough

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Quinn Meinerz saw his football life — and really, his life itself — change forever in the last six months.

First, there was the contract extension that he signed in July that gave him $45 million in guaranteed money — and the potential to earn $72 million over the four-year span of the deal. It gave him what he termed “generational wealth,” and stamped him as a member of the Denver Broncos core around which Sean Payton and George Paton look to build their roster.

Barely a month after the deal, he became a Broncos team captain for the first time.

“At the beginning of the season, I felt like I was continuing to get better every single week, overcoming mental hurdles with the contract and stuff like that,” Meinerz explained.

Playing with a massive contract and what such an investment means is one thing. But adding the burden of leadership to it truly put the fourth-year veteran into some heady territory — and that’s what weighed upon him early.

“It was being a captain. Wasn’t really expecting that, to be honest. Maybe naive to not expect that. The money. Yeah, there’s a lot of self-imposed pressure that I put on myself after accomplishing those things,” he said.

In the first two games of the regular season, Meinerz allowed 5 pressures, per the data compiled by Pro Football Focus — nearly twice as many per game as his average in the previous two seasons, when he was credited with just 1.3 pressures allowed per game.

He knew he was better than that. But much weighed on his mind. He quickly centered himself.

Broncos RG Quinn Meinerz reflects on his first All-Pro season — & one in which he signed a contract giving him "generational wealth":

"I'm proud of myself, proud of the work … Ten [wins] is great. Being in the playoffs is great, but this team can be much more than a 7 seed." pic.twitter.com/19vfA1aORh

— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) January 20, 2025

“I realized at the end of the day I just need to keep being the player that I am,” Meinerz said, “and everything’s going to take care of itself.”

And with that, he played the best football of his career. In the 16 games that followed, he allowed just seven pressures.

The first-team All-Pro nod he earned was a fait accompli after that.

“Played one of my best seasons and it turned out to be viewed as the best season by a right guard, which is an incredible individual honor,” Meinerz said. “And I’m proud of myself, proud of the work. I appreciate how much my wife has done this year to help me be at my best every single week.”

And of course, there was a return to the postseason, something which was quite the familiar experience at Division III Wisconsin-Whitewater where he matriculated, but something new to him as a pro.

Meinerz played well and held his own in the 31-7 loss to Buffalo, which surprised no one. As with myriad Broncos, he got a taste of what a higher level of success will require.

“Ten games [won] is great. Being in the playoffs is great,” he said. “But this team can be much more than a seven seed.”

He can’t control all of whether his team can do that; even as a team captain, a guard can only do but so much. But to that end, the All-Pro has more in mind individually.

“Yeah, specifically, I think there’s some backside cutoff things that I can continue to get better at,” he said. “I think mid-snap communication can be another one. And I think there’s always refinement in the pass-protection game that that could be had.”

Where can one go from first-team All-Pro? How about getting back there again, which would make Meinerz the first Broncos guard to earn more than one first-team All-Pro nod. Or the Pro Bowl, to which he was an alternate this year?

The stratosphere awaits for Meinerz, who now sits firmly among the game’s elite, while also being a sturdy, load-bearing wall of the Broncos’ hopes to construct a sustained winner.

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