The Denver Broncos received some good news surrounding offensive lineman Quinn Meinerz after a scary situation on Sunday during the team’s win against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Quinn Meinerz set to return to Denver on Monday
Denver Broncos right guard Quinn Meinerz didn’t return to play in the second half of the Broncos win against the Los Angeles Chargers and was transported to a local hospital after encountering an irregular heartbeat.
While the Broncos traveled back on Sunday night, Meinerz stayed at a local hospital overnight as a precaution to monitor him. Broncos head coach Sean Payton said on his Monday conference call that Meinerz would be back in Denver on Monday.
“[G] Quinn [Meinerz] will be back today,” Payton told us. “That’s really any update we have.”
There’s no indication whether or not Meinerz status for this week will be impacted or if the event was an anomaly, but it’s worth monitoring as Denver gets ready to return to the practice field on Wednesday.
Despite playing this Saturday against the Detroit Lions, the Broncos practice schedule will be the same as it has been most weeks with them practicing Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Following Friday’s practice, they’ll fly to Detroit for Saturday’s game.
“Today is the same,” Payton said on Monday’s conference call regarding the schedule. “Players will come in and get treatment. They’ll lift, and they’ll watch the tape. Tomorrow they’re off. That’s the same. Wednesday is the same. I might be a little more mindful of how long we’re on the field Wednesday. Thursday is pretty similar. Then, it begins to switch. What I mean by that is the time we’re on the field Friday to what we’re doing Friday will just be more walk-through, classroom review, indoors. We’ll stretch. We’ll have a light practice, and then we’ll fly Friday afterwards. I think it cuts into a little bit of each day, but particularly Friday relative to the schedule.”
Broncos awaiting MRI results on Nik Bonitto
Payton has always said that he’ll never provide injury news on conference calls, so there wasn’t a specific update on outside linebacker Nik Bonitto after he left Sunday’s game with a knee injury in the first quarter. He was carted off and did not return.
As the team and everybody await the MRI results to come back, the Broncos could have to prepare for him to potentially miss time pending the results. In the event Bonitto misses any time, the Broncos’ outside linebacker rotation will likely consist of Baron Browning and Jonathon Cooper maintaining their roles as starters.
Behind them, rookie Drew Sanders is next up in line, with outside linebacker Ronnie Perkins more than likely getting the nod opposite of him. The Broncos also have Thomas Incoom on the active roster and could elevate practice squad linebacker Durell Nchami, who signed with them last week.
Bonitto’s impact on Denver’s defense has been significant this season, especially as the team’s leader in sacks with seven on the season. He also leads the defense with 11 tackles for a loss behind the line of scrimmage.
Once an official announcement is made, there will be an update here.
