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Quinn Meinerz

Broncos, Quinn Meinerz Agree On Extension

July 24th, 2024 at 11:30am CST by Sam Robinson

JULY 24: The base value of Meinerz’s deal will leave the NFL’s $20MM-per-year guard count at four. This contract checks in at four years and $72MM, according to OverTheCap. Of Meinerz’s $45MM guarantee, $24MM is locked in at signing. Incentives cover $8MM in this deal, which could take it to $80MM if maxed out.

The improving guard secured a rolling guarantee structure for 2026 as well. If Meinerz is on Denver’s roster by Day 5 of the 2025 league year, his 2026 base salary ($14.86MM) becomes guaranteed. Meinerz’s 2024 and ’25 base salaries are guaranteed at signing. If Meinerz is on the Broncos’ roster by Day 5 of the 2027 league year, $6.14MM of his 2027 base ($17.49MM) will become guaranteed.

JULY 16: Already carrying three veteran contracts on their offensive line, the Broncos are adding a fourth. Quinn Meinerz is now Denver’s highest-paid blocker, with NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo reporting the team’s ascending right guard has an extension in place.

The former third-round pick agreed to a four-year deal worth $80MM; $45MM will be guaranteed to the Division III product. Meinerz, who has become one of the NFL’s better guards over the past two seasons, is now signed through the 2028 season. This eclipses Garett Bolles‘ deal for the most lucrative pact handed to an O-lineman in Broncos history.

Earlier this offseason, we mentioned Meinerz as an extension candidate. The Broncos will have some more breathing room beginning in 2026, when the Russell Wilson dead money is off the books, and Meinerz will be paired with Bo Nix‘s rookie contract. While right tackle Mike McGlinchey is locked in through at least 2025, Bolles is playing on an expiring contract. Left guard Ben Powers‘ four-year deal also pays out its guarantees this season. Meinerz now sits as the top investment along Denver’s O-line, becoming the NFL’s fifth $20MM-per-year guard.

Meinerz’s deal follows Quenton Nelson, Chris Lindstrom, Landon Dickerson and Robert Hunt in the $20MM-AAV club at this increasingly valuable position. This contract matches the Hunt and Nelson deals for AAV; Dickerson remains the NFL’s highest-paid guard. Although Meinerz has yet to be selected for a Pro Bowl, the interior mauler — known at one point for his “The Belly” alias — has been one of the top-rated guards over the past two seasons.

While GM George Paton made some memorably bad decisions in 2022 — the Wilson trade/extension, the Nathaniel Hackett hire — his 2021 draft class has panned out thus far to help keep the team afloat. Meinerz joins Patrick Surtain as the anchors from that group, though the Broncos have a few other contributors from Paton’s first offering as a GM. Pro Football Focus graded Meinerz as a top-five guard in 2022 and slotted him third among guards last season. The advanced metrics site placed Meinerz, 25, as the NFL’s best run-blocking guard in 2023.

Sean Payton was not present for Meinerz’s arrival, but the second-year Broncos boss has long placed a premium on interior O-line success. Payton invested heavily in interior blockers to help protect Drew Brees; current Broncos O-line coach Zach Strief was part of that effort. Jahri Evans became a pillar for the Saints, while the team also used first-round picks to acquire Andrus Peat and Cesar Ruiz. Erik McCoy, who has become one of the NFL’s top centers, arrived via second-round pick during the end of Payton’s New Orleans run.

The Saints also signed Larry Warford to a big-ticket free agent deal in 2017, the same year the Broncos added Ronald Leary in free agency. Denver did not see Leary or 2020 free agent guard signee Graham Glasgow provide sufficient value, but the team continued down the free agent path with Powers. The late-blooming Ravens success story started 17 games alongside Meinerz last season. Powers, 27, is signed through 2026. The Broncos have bigger plans for Meinerz, who has become one of the NFL’s most unique success stories in recent years.

The COVID-19 pandemic nixed Division III’s 2020 season, leading Meinerz to train on his own ahead of the draft. A Senior Bowl invite, along with some mid-’80s Rocky Balboa-like training techniques, propelled the Wisconsin-Whitewater product to a Day 2 investment.

Replacing an injured Glasgow in 2021, Meinerz has started 39 career games. A Meinerz extension likely factored into the Broncos’ decision not to re-sign Dalton Risner last year — though, the four-year guard starter did not prove to be expensive in free agency — and the team will aim for Meinerz to block for Nix for many seasons moving forward.

Extension Candidate: Quinn Meinerz

May 16th, 2024 at 10:07pm CST by Sam Robinson

Broncos GM George Paton has gone from a respected hire, succeeding John Elway in 2021, to the exec that greenlit three of this decade’s most criticized moves. But prior to the Nathaniel Hackett hire and the Russell Wilson trade and extension calls that set the franchise back, the Paton-fronted 2021 draft gave the Broncos an array of talent that remains in key roles on Sean Payton‘s second Denver roster.

The Broncos received steady criticism for passing on Justin Fields to start that draft, but their Patrick Surtain move has aged well. The All-Pro cornerback will be on track for a mega-extension, and after trade rumors during this year’s draft proved unfounded, extension talks are expected to begin soon. Denver also added starting running back Javonte Williams in Round 2; this will be a big year for the hard-charging RB, as he struggled for much of last season upon returning from ACL and LCL tears. Third-rounder Baron Browning and seventh-rounder Jonathon Cooper have started regularly at outside linebacker, and the team may turn to fifth-rounder Caden Sterns — a Week 1 starter last season before suffering an injury — as a first-stringer post-Justin Simmons.

While that Surtain-fronted haul will be heard from in Denver this season, the group also housed a Division III prospect who has turned into one of the NFL’s better players at his position. The Broncos chose Quinn Meinerz near the end of Round 3 (No. 98) out of Wisconsin-Whitewater. That pick has proven critical for the team, as offensive success stories have been hard to find for the Broncos in recent years.

Meinerz, 25, initially captured attention for mid-’80s Rocky Balboa-style workouts, following a COVID-19-nixed senior season at the D-III level, and practice jerseys exposing his midriff area. But the small-school prospect quickly showed he was capable of quality NFL play. Since taking over for an injured Graham Glasgow midway through the 2021 season, Meinerz has been the Broncos’ most consistent O-lineman. The now-extension-eligible blocker has settled in at right guard over the past two seasons.

As the Broncos cratered to last place in scoring offense during the ill-fated Hackett-Wilson season, Meinerz played well in 13 starts. Pro Football Focus graded Meinerz as a top-five guard in 2022. Last year, PFF slotted Meinerz third among guards. Known more for his run-blocking power, Meinerz has set himself up for a big contract year — should the Broncos not come to an extension agreement before that point.

Denver does not have considerable recent experience with extensions for interior O-linemen. The team has opted to fill its guard needs in free agency for many years, signing the likes of Louis Vasquez (2013), Ronald Leary (2017), Glasgow (2020) and Ben Powers (2023) to big-ticket deals. This span also included a training camp Evan Mathis addition (2015). While the team has seen some decent play from draftees at center and guard in this span (Matt Paradis, Connor McGovern, Dalton Risner, Lloyd Cushenberry), extensions have not emerged. Paradis, Risner, Cushenberry, McGovern and Billy Turner each departed after solid contract years.

With Meinerz joining Surtain as the team’s top extension candidates from Paton’s first draft, it will be interesting to see how the Broncos proceed. Meinerz’s rookie contract has been valuable to the team in recent years, particularly in 2023. As Payton brought in Powers (four years, $52MM) and right tackle Mike McGlinchey (five years, $87.5MM) to pair with the Elway-era Garett Bolles extension (four years, $68MM), the rookie deals for Cushenberry and Meinerz became important.

Payton has been no stranger to O-line extensions. The Saints fortified these spots for years, most recently extending the likes of Terron Armstead and Ryan Ramczyk on the Super Bowl-winning HC’s watch. They also re-signed Pro Bowl guard Andrus Peat. While Bo Nix‘s development has obviously become the central Broncos storyline in 2024, how the team handles its O-line contracts will be worth monitoring as well.

Bolles’ deal expires after this season, and the seven-year left tackle has expressed interest in a third contract. The 2017 first-rounder, however, will turn 32 later this month. Seeing about a younger LT upgrade and allocating money to keep Meinerz in the fold would be a viable path. Wilson’s astonishing dead money figure has settled in at $84MM when the QB’s Steelers offset is factored in, though the team is absorbing the lion’s share of the hit in 2024.

That contract will be on the Broncos’ books through 2025. The team may not want four veteran O-line deals — even around Nix’s rookie contract — on the payroll, creating a potential Bolles-or-Meinerz call. A longer-term Meinerz extension would, however, stand to align with Nix’s deal.

Guard salaries have ballooned past $20MM per year over the past two offseasons. Four guards are in the $20MM-AAV club. Meinerz not having a Pro Bowl or All-Pro nod on his resume may exclude him from that price range, but six more guards are tied to deals north of $15MM per year. Cushenberry also used a contract-year surge to command the second-highest guarantee at signing ($26MM) among centers. Meinerz staying on course will position him as one of next year’s top free agents, as guard franchise tags — since O-linemen are grouped together under the tag formula — are rare.

With Browning and Cooper also due for free agency in 2025, the Broncos ($38MM in 2025 cap space, as of mid-May) will have some decisions to make over the next 10 months. Meinerz’s earnings floor stands to be higher by comparison, and the team’s issues developing offensive talent in recent years would seemingly point to an extension being considered. The Broncos hold exclusive negotiating rights with their 2021 draftees — though, Surtain is signed through 2025 via the fifth-year option — until March of next year.

Broncos Seeking O-Line Upgrades; DL Dre’Mont Jones Plans To Test Market

March 1st, 2023 at 2:03pm CST by Sam Robinson

Coming off a wildly disappointing season, the Broncos carry a few needs. Multiple such spots come along Denver’s offensive line, which struggled to both establish a steady ground attack or protect Russell Wilson.

The Broncos are keeping Garett Bolles in place at left tackle, GM George Paton said, and Quinn Meinerz will be back at right guard. Despite the Broncos’ dreadful season on offense, Pro Football Focus ranked Meinerz as a top-10 guard. The rest of the line is in flux going into Sean Payton‘s first season.

“We need to upgrade at the offensive line,’’ Paton said, via 9News’ Mike Klis. “There’s a lot of different ways to acquire any position—free agency, the draft. It just kind of depends on what’s stronger. Is free agency stronger or the draft stronger? Obviously, we need to upgrade there on the offensive line.”

Right tackle has created annual issues up front for the Broncos. The team is near certain to go into an 11th straight season with a different Week 1 starter at that position. Aside from that streak set to drag into a second decade, the team has four-year guard starter Dalton Risner headed to free agency and center Lloyd Cushenberry coming off an injury-plagued season.

PFF has viewed Cushenberry as a bottom-tier center during his three-year run with the Broncos; Paton was not yet in place when the former third-round pick arrived. While the Broncos struggled up front for much of 2022, they were without three starters for most of it. Bolles went down in Week 5, while right tackle Billy Turner missed nine games. Potential right-side starter Tom Compton missed 16.

This will be a year for right tackle-needy teams to strike in free agency. Mike McGlinchey, Kaleb McGary and Jawaan Taylor are, barring franchise tags for the Falcons or Jaguars right-siders, poised to hit the market. These would be costly investments, but the Broncos’ repeated failures to staff this position could point to such a move. The team has generally tried stopgap types here, though its one big swing at the position during this carousel produced a resounding whiff. Big-ticket 2019 signing Ja’Wuan James failed to play 100 snaps for the team before being released in 2021.

One season remains on Cushenberry’s rookie deal, and Graham Glasgow has played both guard and center for the team. While the Broncos brought Glasgow back on a pay cut in 2022, the John Elway-era free agent signing is set to carry a $14MM cap number this season. He joins Ronald Darby as prime cut candidates for the Broncos, who have just $9MM in cap space.

Denver is not expected to need to create room for a franchise tag. The team is not planning to cuff defensive lineman Dre’Mont Jones, but that will probably mean a bidding war. Although the Broncos are trying to re-sign the former third-round pick, Jones is eager to see what is out there for him. The three-year starter is planning to test free agency, Troy Renck of Denver7 tweets.

With Washington tagging Daron Payne, Jones will enter free agency as one of the best D-linemen available. He has expressed interest in staying with the Broncos, but it will be expensive for the team to retain the Ohio State alum. Denver only has one defender attached to a top-10 contract at his respective position (Justin Simmons), but the team could need to add Jones to that list were a second contract agreement to be reached.

Broncos G Quinn Meinerz To Miss Time

September 13th, 2022 at 3:49pm CST by Sam Robinson

Last season, a Graham Glasgow injury moved Quinn Meinerz into the Broncos’ starting lineup. The reverse occurred Monday night, when Glasgow came in to replace Denver’s new right guard starter.

More Glasgow starts could be on tap. Meinerz suffered a hamstring injury that is expected to keep him out for what could be a lengthy stretch, Mike Klis of 9News tweets. Meinerz, whom Klis adds could miss four games, suffered the injury during the Broncos’ first possession Monday. The Broncos will likely consider an IR move here, though with the possibility Meinerz could return before Week 6, it might also make sense to wait.

The Broncos have considerable experience on their second-string offensive line. In addition to signing Tom Compton and Cameron Fleming, the team rosters Glasgow, who was a full-time starter from 2016-21. Meinerz, however, took over after Glasgow’s midseason injury last year and won the job out of camp.

Denver signed Glasgow to a four-year, $44MM deal in 2020, John Elway‘s final offseason as the team’s GM. The team drafted Meinerz, a third-round pick out of Division III Wisconsin-Whitewater, during George Paton’s first draft in that role. The younger lineman figures to be a key part of the Broncos’ offensive line plans moving forward, being signed through 2024. But Glasgow may well get his job back for the time being.

Seahawks defensive tackle Al Woods helped cause the second of the Broncos’ two goal-line fumbles Monday night, driving Glasgow into Javonte Williams on that play. But the Broncos still should have a quality option in the seventh-year veteran. The former Lions draftee has started 78 career games, including 20 with the Broncos. Following Glasgow’s season-ending broken ankle, the Broncos reworked his contract. Glasgow, 30, is earning $3.1MM in 2022 base salary and counting $6.1MM on Denver’s cap.

Latest On Broncos’ Offensive Line Plans

May 21st, 2022 at 4:25pm CST by Sam Robinson

Pro Football Focus ranked the Broncos’ 2021 offensive line 19th, and while the team will have a different Week 1 right tackle starter for a 10th straight season, Denver made only midlevel moves up front this offseason. That said, the 2022 Broncos should have more depth here.

It is possible four positions are up for grabs, with Garett Bolles entrenched at left tackle. The team’s right tackle competition — which features veteran additions Billy Turner and Tom Compton, along with holdover Calvin Anderson — may produce the only newcomer to block for Russell Wilson, but four starters are vying for three spots inside. Dalton Risner has started at left guard for three seasons, while Lloyd Cushenberry has played every snap at center for the past two. These ex-Day 2 picks might not have total job security, but those spots appear more solidified than Denver’s right guard position.

New OC Justin Outten pointed to a Graham Glasgow–Quinn Meinerz competition for the right guard spot, with the loser potentially representing a high-end swingman. Though, Glasgow said (via Ryan O’Halloran of the Denver Post) he is uncertain if guard or center will be his 2022 position. A two-year starter in Denver after signing a four-year deal in 2020, Glasgow has not yet fully recovered from the broken ankle and ligament tears he suffered last November. Meinerz, a 2021 third-rounder, started nine games as a rookie, most of them coming after Glasgow’s injury.

“We want to see where they can fit and their ability to play center and snap the ball as a crucial backup,” Outten said of Glasgow and Meinerz, via the Denver Post’s Kyle Newman. “You want to have that in your back pocket. Those guys will kind of bounce around as you’ll see [in OTAs]. It’s just to see them fit in different spots and direct traffic in playing guard and helping the tackles out as far as the interior [calls].”

Meinerz, who has dropped 10 pounds to better fit Nathaniel Hackett‘s zone-blocking scheme, may have the edge, with 9News’ Mike Klis noting it is possible the Division III product has a route to the starting lineup even if Glasgow reclaims his right guard job. This scenario would put Cushenberry or Risner on notice. Hackett, however, previously gave Meinerz a strong endorsement at right guard. The Broncos also reworked Glasgow’s contract in January, reducing his 2022 base salary from $8.4MM to $3.1MM. That salary is fully guaranteed, with $1.4MM in playing-time incentives available. That incentive package tops $1MM if Glasgow reaches the 70% snap threshold, O’Halloran notes, adding that Glasgow is targeting a return by training camp.

OL Rumors: Fins, Meinerz, Bates, Steelers

March 31st, 2022 at 7:31pm CST by Sam Robinson

Addressing needs at left tackle and left guard, the Dolphins are turning their attention to center. GM Chris Grier plans to bring in competition for incumbent Michael Deiter, per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. The Dolphins are looking to keep costs down here, Jackson adds, noting they are not currently on the radar for J.C. Tretter or Matt Paradis. Both have been center starters for the past several years but would qualify as replacements for Deiter rather than competition. Given Tretter’s performance in Cleveland, the NFLPA president looms as one of the top free agents available. Miami’s to-be-determined center will join Terron Armstead, Connor Williams, Robert Hunt and either Austin Jackson or Liam Eichenberg on the team’s reconfigured O-line.

Here is the latest from the offensive line ranks:

  • Although the Patriots hosted Bills restricted free agent Ryan Bates, it does not appear they were competing with the Bears for his services. Unlike the Bears, the Pats did not extend Bates an offer sheet and, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN.com, the team was not overly interested. The Bills ended up matching the offer sheet to retain Bates. The Pats lost both 2021 guard starters — Ted Karras and Shaq Mason — this offseason. While swingman Michael Onwenu stands to take over at one of the positions, it is uncertain who will join he and longtime center David Andrews as the third interior man.
  • Quinn Meinerz did not open last season as a Broncos starter, but the Division III product looks set to do so in 2022. Nathaniel Hackett envisions Meinerz as the team’s starting right guard, Ryan O’Halloran of the Denver Post notes. “The sky is the limit” for Meinerz, said Hackett, who plans to keep Graham Glasgow‘s midseason replacement in the lineup. That leaves Glasgow’s role uncertain. The 2020 UFA addition has been the Broncos’ starting right guard when healthy over the past two seasons, but he played center for 16 games with the 2018 Lions. Broncos center Lloyd Cushenberry has not missed a snap during his initial two NFL seasons, but Pro Football Focus graded the former third-rounder as the team’s worst O-line starter last season.
  • The Steelers signed James Daniels and Mason Cole in free agency. Cole has primarily played center, while Daniels has played the position as a pro as well. Daniels has spent most of his NFL days at guard, and it is possible 2021 Steelers center Kendrick Green becomes the team’s other guard starter. Mike Tomlin is open to moving Green to guard, Mark Kaboly of The Athletic notes (subscription required). A third-round pick last year, Green started 15 games as a rookie. PFF graded him as one of the league’s worst centers. A move to guard, where he spent most of his time at Illinois, could potentially open the door to improvement and threaten Kevin Dotson‘s starting role. Dotson, a 2020 fourth-rounder, opened the season as Pittsburgh’s left guard starter but missed eight games due to injury.
  • Zach Banner‘s Steelers exit stemmed from his 2020 ACL tear remaining a deterrent, Kaboly adds. Banner opened the 2020 season as the Steelers’ starting right tackle but suffered the tear in Week 1. The 6-foot-8 blocker played seven games last season, but Kaboly adds his knee never returned to form.

AFC Draft Notes: Browns, Jaguars, Broncos

May 2nd, 2021 at 6:55pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Notre Dame linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah had one of the most surprising tumbles of the draft. Widely expected to be a first-rounder, he ended up falling to the Browns with the 52nd overall pick after Cleveland traded up to get him. Apparently, the Browns almost pulled the trigger a round earlier. Cleveland mulled taking him with their first-rounder, the 26th overall pick. “He was definitely under consideration,” exec Paul DePodesta said, via Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon-Journal.

“We certainly didn’t expect him to be there when he was, but we’re fortunate that he was,” GM Andrew Berry added. “There was a lot of pacing going on upstairs once we got to about pick 42, 43, 44, just trying to figure out if there was a way we could make it happen,” DePodesta explained of the trade up. The Browns needed linebacker help, so it was the perfect situation. Not only was Owusu-Koramoah the ACC Defensive Player of the Year last season, he was also a unanimous All-American.

Here’s more fallout from this weekend’s draft in the AFC:

  • The Jaguars reunited Trevor Lawrence with his college running back by drafting Travis Etienne 25th overall, but it sounds like they would’ve preferred someone else. On Friday head coach Urban Meyer said there was a player who “broke our heart” that they couldn’t draft, and on Saturday he revealed who that was. The team was hoping to pick Florida receiver Kadarius Toney, Meyer said, via John Shipley of Jaguar Report (Twitter link). It’s rare for a coach or GM to openly say something like that, so they must’ve really wanted him. Meyer called the Florida star a “human highlight reel,” and highlighted his relationship with current Gators coach Dan Mullen as to how he’d gotten close to Toney. Unfortunately for Meyer, the Giants nabbed Toney at 20th overall.
  • The Broncos drafted a small school prospect a lot of fans were high on when they took Quinn Meinerz from Wisconsin-Whitewater in the third-round. Meinerz played guard in college, but it looks like Denver is going to switch him to the pivot for pro development. Meinerz will start out playing center, head coach Vic Fangio said, via Mike Klis of Denver 9 News (Twitter link). As Klis points out, he’ll be behind 2020 third-rounder Lloyd Cushenberry on the depth chart.

Dolphins Lose $8MM In Cap Space

February 21st, 2021 at 12:30pm CST by Rory Parks

Although the Dolphins have not signed a single player to a standard 2021 contract this month, the club has still lost about $8MM in cap space, as Barry Jackson and Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald report. That’s because a few players hit incentives in their contracts that increased their 2021 cap charges.

For instance, WR DeVante Parker‘s 2021 cap number increased from $11MM to $12MM, while safety Eric Rowe‘s number grew from $5.05MM to $6.05MM. As such, Miami now has $25.4MM of cap space, assuming the cap floor of $180MM does not increase.

That’s not an insignificant amount of wiggle room, but the Dolphins do have a number of high-value draft picks, including the Nos. 3 and 18 overall selections and two second-round choices. If they keep all of those picks, Miami would need to allocate about $11.9MM for its draft class, per Jackson and Beasley. That doesn’t leave a ton of space for the team to conduct the rest of its offseason business.

After all, the ‘Fins will need to sign a wide receiver, a backup QB, and several linebackers, and they will also need to re-sign C Ted Karras or acquire a new center (though Jackson and Beasley say the club is high on Wisconsin-Whitewater OL Quinn Meinerz, Miami is not going to deploy a D-III rookie as its starting pivot).

The Dolphins do have plenty of options to create additional room, including cutting safety Bobby McCain or restructuring the contract of linebacker Kyle Van Noy. And the situation would be completely altered if the club were to trade for Texans QB Deshaun Watson, which appears to be a legitimate possibility.