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Breaking Down Quinn Meinerz's Broncos Future—Playing the Long Game

Oct 5, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Denver Broncos guard Quinn Meinerz (77) against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

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Breaking Down Quinn Meinerz's Broncos Future—Playing the Long Game

Originally posted on Denver Broncos on SI
By Chad Jensen | Last updated Jun 8, 2026 9:00 AM ET

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The Denver Broncos have multiple players under contract with option bonuses in their deals. The option bonuses are a way to lower a player's cap hit in a current year, though they do come at a cost down the road if used too often.

One player who has option bonuses throughout his contract is Broncos All-Pro offensive guard Quinn Meinerz. The 2021 third-round pick signed an extension during the 2024 offseason and has multiple option bonuses in his contract.

What does this mean for Meinerz in future seasons? Let's examine his contract to see what the long-term implications might be.

Contract Status

Meinerz enters the third year of the extension he signed. In 2024, he received a signing bonus, then had an option bonus exercised in 2025. For 2026, he had $15.641 million of his base salary converted into a signing bonus to lower his cap charge to $9.208 million.

Meinerz has two option bonuses in the final two years of his contract, one for $18.73 million in 2027 and one for $19.6 million in 2028. If exercised, the Broncos can lower his cap charge for that year but will prorate more money into future seasons.

Meinerz currently has void years from 2029 to 2035 for cap purposes in his deal. If his contract were to expire after 2028, the Broncos would take more than $35 in dead money charges if they exercised his two remaining options.

If Meinerz were extended in 2028, any pro-rated money would simply be spread out over the years covered in the extension and the Broncos wouldn't have to worry about taking any dead money.

Future Outlook

Meinerz appears to be a player the Broncos believe will be with the team for the long term, to the point they may be prepared to extend him in 2028. Now, he would likely get a raise over his current deal, but it may be possible to keep him around.

While the Broncos would have to be mindful of his age, as Meinerz will turn 30 in 2028, it's not unusual to see offensive guards have long careers, particularly if they avoid significant injuries.

In his five seasons with the Broncos, Meinerz has missed just six games — two as a rookie and four in his second season. He has never missed a start in the last three seasons, which is an impressive track record as far as his health goes.

If Meinerz remains healthy and keeps starting the bulk of games, that makes him a player worth taking a chance on keeping beyond 2028. Offensive linemen who barely, if ever, miss a game are a good bet to play well for a long time.

The question, though, is what happens if Meinerz does run into injury issues in the coming seasons. The Broncos will then have to be careful about giving him an extension.

With that said, the Broncos don't have to exercise the option bonuses and could treat that money as base salary. It would mean a higher cap charge with less dead money associated with his contract's expiration.

Of course, if the Broncos don't exercise the option bonuses, they will have to determine other ways to clear cap space for any players they wish to keep — particularly when it comes time to extend Bo Nix.

The Takeaway

Meinerz has been an asset to the Broncos, and as long as he remains an asset, he's worth keeping. It should be possible to keep Meinerz beyond 2028, even with Nix getting a considerable deal.

Teams can keep quality players at positions other than quarterback, so long as they make good choices about who to keep and who to let go, and draft well.

Given Meinerz's track record thus far, it would make sense to keep him for a long time. But if things change, the Broncos may have to avoid exercising his option bonuses so they don't get stuck with too much dead money once his deal expires.

The good thing is the Broncos don't have to exercise those option bonuses until September 1 of each year. That gives the Broncos time to make a decision — and given that GM George Paton has shown he can manage the cap well, fans should trust that he will figure out the best path to take with somebody like Meinerz.