Mike McGlinchey used to have an enviable set of choices for a rare training camp off day.
Golf, whether in the Bay Area while with San Francisco 49ers or in the Denver area, always sounds like a good idea.
Sleep in? Sometimes simple is best.
Kick the feet up and watch a movie, maybe a little bit of film along the way? Indeed, air conditioning feels great after a long stretch of days on the field.
These days, McGlinchey sees none of that.
But, he said, itap for good reason. He’s been promoted.
McGlinchey and his wife, Brooke, welcomed their second child the day after the Broncos lost in the AFC Championship Game.
“I would say dad is very much a support player, a role player, the first time around,” McGlinchey said earlier this summer. “All of a sudden, when there’s no free set of hands, dad gets elevated to the starting lineup.
“Itap fun. My son is almost 2 now. He doesn’t stop moving, he doesn’t stop talking and itap a lot of fun. … Itap a full-time job, man. And I’ve got two of them now. Itap been a lot of fun and itap the biggest blessing in the world.”
Thatap a common theme around the Broncos locker room. The team features a bunch of young dads, including multi-kid veterans like McGlinchey, left tackle Garett Bolles and safety Talanoa Hufanga and also new additions to the ranks this offseason in quarterback Bo Nix and safety Brandon Jones.
Players spend training camp together in a hotel, so family time gets limited. After practice, families and friends of players make their way from the balcony and courtyard viewing area at the new team facility down to the indoor practice field and players make their way up for quick visits. Naturally, then, thatap how many like to spend their off days, too.
Second-year wide receiver Pat Bryant, who got married this summer during OTAs, said he takes a similar low-key approach on the rare occasion the club gets an off day.
“Itap a couple things to do around here that are fun, but my main focus is getting rest,” said Bryant, who has had a terrific training camp and appears poised for a Year 2 breakout. “Get as much sleep as possible, hang out with the wife for a couple hours and just kick my feet up and relax.”
All-Pro right guard Quinn Meinerz is a man of many hobbies, but he said recently that he used a weekend day to see released on 70-millimeter film by director Christopher Nolan this summer. You can also find Meinerz on an off day at the bowling alley, checking out avian variety with his birdwatching setup and app or, after dark, peering at the night sky through his telescope.
Players on the team have all kinds of other hobbies and things they like to do with their downtime during the summer or even during the regular season. If there’s a fishing spot to be found, Bolles may be there. Same for kicker Wil Lutz, who is also a high-quality golfer. Players in the offseason find unique, do-it-yourself workout routines, even if they’re also using the Broncos facilities. Veteran inside linebacker Alex Singleton set himself up with a sauna and cold plunge at his house and is a big believer in mobility-based training. Jaleel McLaughlin said he regularly made the trip to Colorado Springs to conquer the Manitou Incline. On the other end of the team’s weight spectrum from the diminutive running back, so, too, did Meinerz make the incline climb.
That’s all well and good, but training camp is a different story. In the heart of it, the Broncos were on the field 10 days in an 11-day stretch. The prep for 10 a.m. practices starts early and the last of the meetings goes well into the evening. It can feel like Groundhog Day.
When asked which day the previous week the team had gone together to see the new “Spider-Man” movie, All-Pro outside linebacker Nik Bonitto said he wasn’t even sure what day it was at that very moment.
There’s just not much downtime. After the Broncos’ preseason-opening win at Atlanta, the team’s charter landed back at Denver International Airport a little after 1 a.m. Saturday morning. Head coach Sean Payton said they had a practice scheduled for that afternoon. Not a taxing one, but back to it nonetheless.
That’s why rest and relaxation often win out when a rare camp-off day pops up on the schedule. You’ve got to be prepared for the grind, especially when your reason for playing starts to expand.
“Just being married give you a little extra job knowing that here soon I’m going to start a nice family,” Bryant, the 24-year-old receiver said with a smile recently. “Overall, itap been great knowing I’ve got my wife in the stands, her family, my family. I’m looking forward to spending the rest of my life with my wife.”
Oh, right, there’s one more staple of a camp off-day: The honey-do list.
Bryant’s sure-handed in that regard, too.
“I took the garbage out before we were married,” he said.
