Quinn Meinerz re-signing shows Broncos have new way of doing business

With Quinn Meinerz, there will be no suspense in the coming months. No questions about whether he intends to re-sign with the Denver Broncos when his rookie deal expires. No speculation about potential destinations in free agency — or how much salary-cap space the Broncos want to utilize to retain their starting right guard.

The Broncos got it done with Meinerz.

And that, in and of itself, represents a change.

Since the 2011 collective bargaining agreement put a more concrete structure on draft-pick contracts, the Broncos have signed 11 post-2021 selections to second contracts. Until Meinerz, the most recent Broncos draft pick to sign a second contract with the team was linebacker Justin Strnad, a 2020 draft pick who signed a one-year deal in March.

Meinerz is the first of those 11 to agree on his contract extension before the final year of his contract began.

Now, in recent years, making those moves during the season became more common. Courtland Sutton signed his 4-year extension in November 2021, with seven games left in his walk year. Garett Bolles agreed on his contract in December 2020, during the final month of that 5-11 season.

But the Broncos felt so secure in Meinerz that they got the deal done earliest of all.

It’s a new way of doing business.

And if Meinerz continues on his ascent, the Broncos might have saved themselves millions by making the deal now.

QUINN MEINERZ MIGHT HAVE BECOME MORE EXPENSIVE IF THIS DEAL WASN’T DONE

Guards were once largely overlooked in the team-building process. Not anymore.

One aspect of cap economics that has changed in recent years is a willingness to back up the armored truck to pay interior offensive linemen. It’s one of the counter-weights to what has transpired at safety, where the Broncos aren’t the only team to consciously become younger and cheaper on the back end.

The Broncos made Ben Powers one of their signature signings last year during the free-agency splash that followed Sean Payton’s hiring. But Meinerz’s contract towers over it with a $45 million guarantee.

That’s $72 million in full guarantees — the most any team is delivering to its guards. And only the Panthers will have a guard tandem on a higher average-per-year value than the Broncos, where Powers and Meinerz will collectively have an average annual value for $33 million.

Even without a Pro Bowl on his CV, Quinn Meinerz was staring at a contract with an average per-year value of at least $20 million.

His contract doesn’t sit atop the heap of guards, and that’s perfectly fair. Meinerz doesn’t have an All-Pro or a Pro Bowl selection to his name. Only last year did he start all 17 games after not reaching the Broncos’ first team on a full-time basis until November 2021.

Meinerz soldiered through 13 games in 2022 as he battled injuries and a zone-blocking emphasis from head coach Nathaniel Hackett and offensive-line coach Butch Barry that mandated a shrinkage of the ample midsection that became his first trademark as a pro.

This effectively hindered his development. Barry’s work in particular was so sub-par that interim coach Jerry Rosburg made firing him one of his first acts after assuming the reins from the deposed Hackett on Boxing Day 2022.

Then, along came Payton — and with him, offensive-line coach Zach Strief. Power became the watchword up front. Thus, “The Belly” was back. Instruction and learning became the style during practice drills on the offensive line. The combination of changes clicked, and Meinerz’s trajectory became an ascent once again.

The Broncos gave Meinerz a haul. But if his rise to the top of the league’s guard pyramid continues, they might be getting a bargain compared to what his March 2025 price could have been.

And unlike in the past, the Broncos wanted to be as far ahead as possible in keeping one of their own.