Mile High Morning: Could 'The Belly' become the Broncos' lucky charm?

[Miles]

The Lead​

When rookie Quinn Meinerz arrived in Denver for rookie minicamp, the third-round draft pick hiked his jersey up to reveal "the gut."


Meinerz has become somewhat of a cult hero for his tendency to let his stomach hang out, and he said it's mostly a practical decision.


"The main purpose behind that is when I start getting a little hot and I'm starting to breathe really heavy, I have to roll up the jersey," Meinerz said in mid-May. "As you can tell, the jerseys fit a little snug, but it just naturally happens."


Meinerz said he'll continue to be himself in Denver, but he also doesn't want to attract negative attention.


"I'm going to continue to be myself," Meinerz said. "I don't think there's ever a reason to not be who you are. Obviously, if the whole belly thing becomes a distraction, I'm willing to manage what happens. I don't want to be a distraction as a rookie. There are already a lot of things on you, and I don't want to be a distraction at all. I'll take it as a compliment, but I'm going to keep being myself because there's no reason not to be."


Luckily for Meinerz, it seems that his teammates have embraced the rookie. Veteran left tackle Garett Bolles said Tuesday that he enjoyed the pre-draft videos of Meinerz working out in the Canadian woods.


"Man, Meinerz is a stud," Bolles said. "I know he's from that small little town in [Wisconsin]. I know it's close to Canada. [There's] that funny video of him throwing the boards and doing his wacky workouts up there. The little caveman that he is. [He has] a great personality. I've watched film of his and done my homework on him, and I'm excited to see what he can do. He's a tough kid that will punch you right in the mouth. The way he demands out there, the way he moves and the ways he moves his hands, I know he has that special talent to be great. I know that he wants to be great."


And perhaps more importantly, Bolles sees potential for The Belly as the season begins.


"I know you all tease him about his big belly, and it is a big belly," Bolles said. "I want to give him a hard time, but maybe it's a lucky belly. If we start winning and that belly's shining, I'm definitely going to rub it a couple of times for sure."