Now or never: Broncos should move on from Lynch before it's too late
For the second season in a row since winning Super Bowl 50, Trevor Siemian has been named the starting quarterback of the Denver Broncos, leaving 2015 first-round pick Paxton Lynch on the sidelines.
Looking back to when the team first selected Lynch, this is not the ideal scenario. The lengthy, big-arm athlete was supposed to be developed as Peyton Manning's replacement, but after two straight training camps being outplayed by Siemian the plan has changed.
Though Lynch has only one full NFL season under his belt, his value and his chance of supplanting Siemian is quickly deteriorating. For his sake and the Broncos', the faster he can move on to his next team the better.
Lynch may be holding out hope that he could still win over the starting job, but based on new head coach Vance Joseph's comments from last week, he would likely need an injury to get that chance.
"If you name a start, he's the guy going forward. Injury can play into that but once a guy is named the starter, that's a huge decision and that's over time. So once that's made, that's pretty permanent."
The 23-year-old also has competition coming up behind him in the form of seventh-round pick Chad Kelly, who may have also been a first-rounder if he kept himself out of trouble. Kelly will likely enter the quarterback competition next season if he can keep his head on straight. If Kelly surpasses Lynch next season, the former 26th overall pick won't be worth a lick and the Broncos will undoubtedly have another John Elway draft bust on their roster.
Lynch still has the qualities that made him a first-round pick in 2015. He still has a strong arm. He's still 6-foot-7. He still has above average athleticism. But he is also still very raw. The Broncos don't really have time to continue developing Lynch with a Super Bowl-ready defense and a very good, but ageing set of receivers - but that's not to say he isn't appealing to other clubs.
Actually negotiating a worthwhile trade may be tough for the Broncos to do at this point in the season following Lynch's second training camp loss to Siemian. However, a quarterback with Lynch's upside and youth will always attract interest from someone. A re-building team who has time to develop Lynch or at least put him in a battle with another struggling pass-thrower should at least pick up the phone and see what the Broncos would want for the Memphis product.
Lynch likely wouldn't be too pleased about joining the New York Jets and their depleted roster, but his talents are just as good, if not better than Bryce Petty and Christian Hackenberg. The Buffalo Bills don't seem too enamored by Tyrod Taylor and are not expecting to compete this season, so Lynch could have time to compete with Nathan Peterman there. The Jacksonville Jaguars handed Blake Bortles his fifth-year option this spring, and now they're looking for some sort of out to fix their mistake.
Perhaps a team with even more time to develop and stability at quarterback could be interested, as well. The Arizona Cardinals, New Orleans Saints, and Pittsburgh Steelers will all start ageing quarterbacks this season without much of a starting prospect to build into a successor.
If Lynch does have a chance to play on another team this season, the Broncos need to move him quickly so he has a chance to possibly get on the field with a new club by Week 4 of the preseason, and maybe he doesn't play at all. But the way things stand right now, he won't be playing in Denver at all and the longer he stays sidelined, the harder it will be for the Broncos to convince anyone it won't happen to them, too.
(Photos courtesy: Action Images)
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