Paxton Lynch injury in arena league ends NFL comeback attempt

Don't call it a comeback.

Former Denver Broncos quarterback Paxton Lynch saw his attempt at an NFL comeback end a short time after it began. Lynch suffered a season-ending LCL injury in his third game for the Colorado Spartans in the National Arena League, putting his dream of getting back to the NFL on hold.

I was pissed off," Lynch told The Denver Post's Luca Evans. And it sucks. I didn't want it to be like this."

Lynch was playing for $600 a game and suffered the injury on March 28 in Salina, Kansas against the Liberty, but he still considers the comeback attempt a success.

I was like, OK, if I play this year in arena football,'" Lynch told the Post, I'm going to play asPaxton Lynch. I'm going to have full confidence in myself. I don't really care.' And that's what I did.

It felt good to do that again."

It has been nearly a decade since Lynch took his last snap in the NFL. Drafted by the Broncos with the 26th overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, Lynch was supposed to be the league's next big thing - literally.

Standing at 6-7 and weighing in at 244 pounds, Denver made the investment with the hope that the Memphis product would lead the Broncos in the post-Peyton Manning years.

Instead, Lynch appeared in just five games and started in four. He posted a 1-3 record and completed 61.7% of passes. He totaled four touchdowns and four interceptions, playing his last game during the 2017 season. He would go on to join the Seattle Seahawks and Pittsburgh Steelers before fizzling out of the league ahead of the 2020 season.

In the time since, Lynch has tried a variety of ways to get back to the NFL. He made stops with the CFL, USFL and XFLbefore landing the opportunity to play arena football.

2016 NFL Draft QB class

A total of 15 quarterbacks were selected in the 2016 NFL Draft, including Lynch. It's a class that created some long-term starters like Jared Goff and Dak Prescott. Carson Wentz appeared primed to join that list until injuries derailed his career.

Here's a look at every quarterback selected in the 2016 NFL Draft:

• Jared Goff, Los Angeles Rams: Round 1, Pick 1
• Carson Wentz, Philadelphia Eagles: Round 1, Pick 2
• Paxton Lynch, Denver Broncos: Round 1, Pick 26
• Christian Hackenberg, New York Jets: Round 2, Pick 51
• Jacoby Brissett, New England Patriots: Round 3, Pick 91
• Cody Kessler, Cleveland Browns: Round 3, Pick 93
• Connor Cook, Oakland Raiders: Round 4, Pick 100
• Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys: Round 4, Pick 135
• Cardale Jones, Buffalo Bills: Round 4, Pick 139
• Kevin Hogan, Kansas City Chiefs: Round 5, Pick 162
• Nate Sudfeld, Washington: Round 6, Pick 187
• Jake Rudock, Detroit Lions: Round 6, Pick 191
• Brandon Allen, Jacksonville Jaguars: Round 6, Pick 201
• Jeff Driskel, San Francisco 49ers: Round 6, Pick 207
• Brandon Doughty, Miami Dolphins: Round 7, Pick 223

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Paxton Lynch injury: Former Broncos QB tears LCL in arena football