Early last week, Broncos guard Quinn Meinerz agreed to a four-year, $80 million contract extension. On Monday, he signed the deal.

On Tuesday, it still hadn’t fully sunk in.

“We’re just trying to even comprehend what all of this even means,’’ said Meinerz, who reported to training camp Tuesday at Broncos Park along with other veterans.

Meinerz is now under contract through 2028. With new money considered, he is tied at $20 million per season of being the third-highest-paid guard in the NFL.

Meinerz, entering his fourth NFL season, has come a long way since he was barely recruited coming out of Hartford Union (Wis.) High School and playing at Division III Wisconsin-Whitewater. His college senior season of 2020 was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic before he was a third-round pick by the Broncos in 2021.

“I couldn’t be more thankful for my agent (Ron Slavin), the ownership (of the Broncos) and (general manager) George Paton,’’ he said. “It’s been an incredible journey. (I’m) forever thankful for George taking the chance and picking me in the third round. … Seeing a Whitewater helmet and having a fan base going, ‘What is that school? Purple and silver. What is that?”’

Meinerz said he knew when spring drills concluded June 12 that there would be “some type of communication happening with extensions.” Talks then got going between Slavin and the Broncos and Slavin told him to “enjoy your off time” until a deal was close.

After signing the extension, Meinerz’s mind drifted back to everyone who has helped him along the way. He talked about working out with weights in his father’s “dark unfinished basement” to prepare for the NFL, calling it “The Grit Dungeon.” He recalled his father helping him out with food.

“He would drop off like 70 pounds of ground beef and a freezer that he bought,’’ Meinerz said. “So then he was like, ‘Hey, let me know when you run out,’ because that was all I was eating was rice and ground beef for every single meal.”

Broncos coach Sean Payton was thrilled when the deal got done to hold onto Meinerz.

“We are excited for him with his consistency and how he played at a position we value,’’ Payton said. “It made sense for the player and the club.”

Sutton to start training camp

Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton is displeased with his contract, but Payton said he will be on the field to start training camp.

“He will be here … and ready to go,’’ Payton said.

The Broncos will hold acclimation practices Wednesday and Thursday. The first practice before fans will be Friday.

Sutton is under contract through 2025. He is due to make $13 million this season but only $2 million is guaranteed. Sutton wants more guaranteed money, including some for 2025. He did not attend spring drills until the mandatory minicamp and had not ruled out holding out to start training camp.

Payton said tight end Greg Dulcich and rookie running back Audric Estime also will be on the field to start camp. Dulcich has missed 22 of 34 games in his first two seasons due to hamstring issues and did not practice in the spring. Estime’s practice time in the spring ended when he suffered a knee injury in May, but Payton said at the time he would be ready for the start of camp.

Payton said Estime is now “doing good.” He said the Broncos “expect Greg to practice” and that “hopefully Greg can stay healthy.”

Shrugging off low expectations

Payton shrugged off predictions that the young Broncos in 2024 will be one of the NFL’s worst teams. He pointed to his first season as an NFL head coach, when he led New Orleans to the 2006 NFC Championship Game after the Saints had gone 3-13 in 2025.

“If I spent time on that in 2006, we would have never gone to the NFC Championship Game,’’ he said. “I don’t have time to spend time (thinking about) that nor do I wish to spend time on that. … None of that means anything. … We will get ready to play. We expect to compete and expect to win.”

Payton doesn’t deny, though, that there will be a learning curve with Denver having a very young team.

“Mistakes are going to happen,’’ he said. “You live with those mistakes, but we don’t live with them consistently. I think with a younger team, we have to be smart with our installation. We have to be smart with how much we give (young players).”

Wanting Uwazurike back

Defensive end Eyioma Uwazurike, suspended indefinitely by the NFL on July 24, 2023 for violating the league’s policy on gambling, is eligible to apply for reinstatement Wednesday, one year after the penalty was handed down. Payton doesn’t know how it will play out.

“We want him back, but we don’t have that same control,’’ Payton said. “We can’t tell you we are going to anticipate it, but we will see with the powers that be.”

Briefly

With the departures of safety Justin Simmons and linebacker Josey Jewell, star cornerback Pat Surtain II is expected to take a bigger leadership role. Payton said Surtain is “not as vocal as others” but wants “him to be himself.’’ Payton said he “would like” for the Broncos reach agreement on a contract extension with Surtain but offered no update on the situation. … Payton didn’t have much to say about the health of safety Caden Sterns, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 1 last September and will start training camp on the physically unable to perform list. “We’ll see,’’ he said. … Payton said one benefit of being in his second season as Broncos coach is having “a better understanding of the personnel” entering training camp. He didn’t see players in pads last year until the start of camp.