KUSA – Paxton Lynch competed for development sake as a Broncos' rookie.
Last year, Lynch’s second, he was given every chance during the preseason to win the starting quarterback position. He got beat out by incumbent starter Trevor Siemian.
This year, Lynch’s competition may come from a quarterback who is not on the Broncos’ roster.
Buffalo’s Nathan Peterman, Arizona’s Mike Glennon, Green Bay's Brett Hundley, Pittsburgh’s Landry Jones and the New York Jets’ Teddy Bridgewater are among the serviceable quarterbacks who could be No. 3 on their respective teams, and therefore possibly available through trade or end-of-preseason release.
Chad Kelly, the Broncos’ No. 3 quarterback? Don’t count him out. He has the type of grit, hyper-competitiveness and athleticism to draw favorable comparisons to Bubby Brister, who won four consecutive starts in relief of the injured John Elway in 1998, and had 75 starts in 14 NFL seasons.
It’s clear, Lynch is the preference of the Broncos’ front office. Maybe, not among the fans or local and national media. But to the opinions that count, Lynch is the favorite to stand with a clipboard on the sideline for the Broncos’ regular-season opener Sept. 9 against Seattle.
Case Keenum is a strong No. 1 quarterback, but if he suffers a two-week ankle injury, what the Broncos want from their backup is someone who can win two games. Or Brock Osweiler, circa 2015.
Lynch will get the preseason to show he is capable. To date, Broncos general manager John Elway has shown faith in Lynch, beginning with his trade up to the No. 26 pick in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft.
Lynch came off the bench and played extremely well in his NFL debut at Tampa Bay in 2016, then had his rookie moments while going 1-1 as a starter.
After losing out to Siemian – who will play for the Minnesota Vikings, the Broncos’ opponent, in the preseason game tonight at Broncos Stadium at Mile High – in the preseason last year, Lynch suffered two nagging injuries that limited him to two starts last year.
The first ended with tears of disappointment and frustration on the visiting Oakland bench. The second finished with encouragement as Lynch directed the Broncos to a game-tying touchdown drive in the final minutes of the fourth quarter in what turned out to be a season-ending loss to Kansas City.
So far in season 3, Lynch has shown flashes of his first-round talent during the offseason and training camp practices. But there are other times when he still plays like a raw prospect.
Perhaps, four offensive systems in four years – his final year at Memphis, followed by Gary Kubiak/Rick Dennison in 2016, Mike McCoy in 2017 and Bill Musgrave this year – can partially explain Lynch’s learning curve.
The game tonight against the Vikings, and next week’s joint practices and preseason game against the Bears are huge to Lynch. After investing $5.97 million and countless coaching hours in Lynch through his first two seasons, his $1.31 million salary for this season is fully guaranteed.
Team-favorable backup QB money, in other words.
