INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 02: Quinn Meinerz #77 of the Denver Broncos during warm up before the game against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium on January 02, 2022 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Afar-from-perfect display from the Denver Broncos saw the team manage to cross the finish line in Week 5, helped in part by another rough display by Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert.
All divisional games are meaningful, at least to some extent. But this particular one was more important to some than others. Two-time All-Pro guard Quinn Meinerz had an incident with his heart back in December 2023, in which he experienced chest tightness and his heart racing in the same stadium in Los Angeles; an incident that saw him get sent to the hospital.
Quinn Meinerz Avoided Heart Issues on Return to SoFi Stadium
GettyINGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 02: Quinn Meinerz #77 of the Denver Broncos during warm up before the game against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium on January 02, 2022 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Now back at SoFi Stadium, Meinerz opened up about the incident in Dec. ’23, after which head coach Sean Payton said the offensive lineman was going to be “fine”, and what lead to said situation at the time.
#Broncos guard Quinn Meinerz talked to several reporters how “I’ve struggled in the past few years in this stadium with heart stuff.” Said a lot of “external stress” affected that. Said “relationship” issues involved in it. We’ll have a story later on that.
“Broncos guard Quinn Meinerz talked to several reporters how “I’ve struggled in the past few years in this stadium with heart stuff.” Said a lot of “external stress” affected that. Said “relationship” issues involved in it.” Chris Tomasson of the Denver Gazette wrote on Oct. 11.
“Stress” and “Relationship Issues” Contributed to Heart Problem
The former third round pick did not divulge further on what “external stress” or “relationship issues” contributed to his heart problems, but it would appear that they were significant enough to have a distinct physiological effect on him.
Since that unfortunate and scary incident, Meinerz has gone on to be a first-team All-Pro selection on two occasions; both of the past two seasons – and also made the Pro Bowl in 2025.
Perhaps even more signicantly given the seriousness heart problems are treated with in the NFL and medicine more generally, the 27-year old has not missed a single game over the past three seasons since.
Daniel Arwas Daniel Arwas is a sports writer who covers the NFL for Heavy.com. Daniel began his career in sports writing in 2022 and has covered the NFL and college football for Gridiron Heroics and The Hammer. More about Daniel Arwas
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Broncos 2-Time All-Pro Reveals Reason Behind Former Heart Problem
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Denver Broncos guard Quinn Meinerz speaks about his heart issues and how it was affected by "external stress" and "relationship issues".
Broncos 2-Time All-Pro Reveals Reason Behind Former Heart Problem