So what does Andre Mintze want to do on his summer vacation?

Try winning another championship with the DC Defenders.

The former Broncos edge rusher had played the past three seasons for the Defenders in the United Football League, including winning a title in 2025. He then retired to pursue a career in health care and is currently chief operations officer for Brighter Days Recovery Center, a mental health clinic in Baltimore.

But in recent weeks, Mintze, 27, got the urge to have one last hurrah in football. So with the blessing of his boss, Dr. Walter Toller, and DC head coach Shannon Harris, Mintze took paid time off from work to join the Defenders for the playoffs.

Mintze took the field to help the Defenders in their 28-22 win over Orlando in a UFL semifinal last Sunday in Daytona Beach, Fla. And on Saturday, he will play in what he expects to be the final football game of his life, the United Bowl against the Louisville Kings at Audi Field in Washington.

“It’s truly been a whirlwind,’’ Mintze said by phone Friday. “It’s been amazing to come back to a team that’s always welcomed me. I’m just making the most of every moment and right now I’m doing everything in my power to see that DC wins the championship again.”

Mintze was undrafted out of Vanderbilt in 2021 but made Denver’s 53-man roster. He played in six games as a rookie in a season disrupted by a hamstring injury. Overall, he got in for 64 snaps on defense and 69 on special teams.

“It was amazing,’’ Mintze said of his time with the Broncos. “It was surreal. I couldn’t really put it into words, just going out there, seeing people I’d seen on TV my whole life and being in the same room with that caliber of guys. … Just running out for my very first game, it was amazing.”

Mintze, though, was hurt in his fifth game, a 34-24 loss to Las Vegas on Oct. 17, 2021. He said he made an “awkward movement” and “felt pain in my leg.”

Mintze missed the next nine games, but did end up returning Jan. 2, 2022 against the Los Angeles Chargers, playing a career-high 39 defensive snaps. It turned out to be the last game of his NFL career.

The Broncos waived Mintze in May 2022. He then had a brief stint with Minnesota in the summer of 2022 before being waived.

“That’s professional sports,’’ Mintze said of being let go by Denver and not getting another NFL opportunity. “It happens. That’s just part of the business.”

Mintze then joined the Defenders, who were in the XFL in 2023, before joining the UFL spring league in 2024. In 2025, he had 5.5 sacks.

But Mintze had earned a master’s degree at Vanderbilt in medicine, health and society. After last season, he received a good offer to move on from football.

“I just evaluated opportunities and made a decision to pursue other things,’’ Mintze said. “I still had the chance before those opportunities left me, so I just wanted to make sure I made the most of everything offered to me, and I felt like a transition to the medical field was something I couldn’t pass up.”

MIntze first was a manager at Brighter Days Recovery Center. He was promoted to his current position two months ago and oversees daily operations at the clinic.

Mintze had kept in close contact with Harris following his retirement, and the two mutually came up with a plan for his return. Toller, the owner of the clinic, was all for it and will be at Saturday’s game.

“I’ve been playing football since I was 10 years old,’’ said Mintze, who had one tackle against Orlando while rotating in on the defensive line. “I felt like a kid learning how to ride a bike again. It was really amazing… With the way my life is going (the United Bowl) will be my last game.”

Just as it was for Mintze when he ran onto the field with the Broncos for the first time, it figures to be emotional when he leaves the field for the final time with the Defenders.