Broncos OL Quinn Meinerz Silences Media When Asked About His Nickname

Quinn Meinerz doesn't wanna hear it anymore.

Almost out of the gates, Denver Broncos offensive guard Quinn Meinerz earned the nickname 'The Belly' as a rookie third-rounder back in 2021. The moniker came as a result of Meinerz showcasing his prodigious gut during practice, with his jersey kind of hiked up a bit. 

Fast forward to Year 3, and Meinerz is tired of being asked about 'The Belly.' He's not about to rip anyone's head off for broaching the subject, but following the Broncos' ninth practice of training camp, he made it clear to the media that he doesn't want to be asked about his gut moving forward. 

“Okay (chuckles)," Meinerz said on Friday. "This is going on Year 3. I wish we would stop talking about ‘The Belly.’ I’m just kind of doing my thing. I appreciate the question but I’m just trying to play football and get better. I’m sorry.” 

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Next question. 

In all seriousness, it's worth wondering about the impetus for Meinerz's new outlook on his nickname. Is it a result of head coach Sean Payton's mandate for players to be "anonymous donors" and not draw attention to themselves for anything other than their play on the gridiron, or is it more about a young player maturing and moving past it? 

It's hard to say. But Meinerz has always been an intense dude — he of the small-school Wisconsin-Whitewater, ripping down trees and running in the forest like a wild man during his preparations for the 2021 NFL draft. 

Yeah, Meinerz is entering Year 3, but he's also coming off two initial seasons as a pro that were painfully bad from a team perspective. The Broncos have won 12 total games since drafting him, so perhaps he's just focused on learning the ropes of Payton's new scheme and doing whatever his position coach Zach Strief asks to help turn the ship around. 

As a result of the losing Meinerz has experienced, there's been a lot of coaching turnover since he's been a Bronco. This is the third offense he's had to learn in as many years in the league, but it sounds like all that schematic assimilation has come with a silver lining. Things are getting easier football-wise.

“A hidden positive in that is that I've gotten pretty good at learning offenses," Meinerz said of learning so many schemes. "At the end of the day, as you keep learning new offenses, things start to overlap a little bit. So this is kind of like the first time things were overlapping a little bit for me. So I found it easier to learn this offense."

Earlier this week, Coach Payton talked about his philosophy of how the running game has to become a part of the Broncos' "DNA." This was music to Meinerz's ears.

“We set the tone in the run game, and it’s our job to get the movement and to, at the end of the day, influence or make the coach want to call more runs because that’s a lot of fun for us," Meinerz said. 

As the Broncos' first-string right guard, 2023 is an important year for Meinerz. Here's to hoping that his serious mindset and dispensing with 'The Belly' nickname is a harbinger of big things to come for him and the Broncos' O-line. 

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