The time Broncos OT Garett Bolles got a lump of coal

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — For Garett Bolles, it will be a merry Christmas indeed. In possession of a contract extension that could keep him Denver through a 12th NFL season and with three young children at home for the holiday, life is good and the holidays grand. There’s an Elf on the Shelf at the Bolles home.

“It’s truly amazing, for sure,” Bolles said, smiling. “It’s fun to be a dad these times of the years.”

 

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But there was a time when the Broncos left tackle didn’t exactly get what he wanted.

It goes back to when he was part of an offensive line blocking for Phillip Lindsay, helping guide the former Colorado star — and current Denver Sports 104.3 The Fan host — to consecutive 1,000-yard seasons in 2018 and 2019, one of which ended in a Pro Bowl selection.

And at one Christmas, the lump of coal in the stocking wasn’t just an expression.

“He gave me coal, and everyone else got a nice bottle of wine,” Bolles recalled. “I got coal. So that was the worst Christmas gift I’ve ever gotten.

“I love him to death. It’s just — it was a little funny inside joke.”

I thought I’d misheard Bolles, thinking he said “cold,” as in he got sick from being around Lindsay. Nope. It was a literal lump of coal.

But Bolles made something out of it.

“He, I took it, put it in my barbecuer and I made some s’mores out of it,” Bolles said. “So, it was good.”

All is well and remains well between Bolles and his former teammate. But that’s a gift that the offensive tackle won’t soon forget — one he called the worst Christmas gift he’d ever received.

 

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