Polumbus: How can Paxton Lynch take the Broncos QB job?
Apr 10, 2017, 2:41 PM | Updated: Apr 12, 2017, 11:21 pm
Now that the Tony Romo saga has come and gone without a signing, the Denver Broncos are back to square one with the two quarterbacks on the roster last season.
Trevor Siemian and Paxton Lynch will enter OTAs in an open competition for the job. However, in reality, it is Lynch that has to beat out Siemian, who will be the assumed starter for most players in the locker room.
As a player, any time your team flirts with a replacement for you in a public fashion the way the Broncos did with Romo, it puts you in a bit of an awkward position. How do you respond now that your teammates are aware that your bosses were potentially looking for a replacement?
You just carry on. Simply put, you carry on.
This is business as usual in the NFL. Players come in. Players go out. You were once the upgrade to some other player when your team signed, and you’re fully aware that your team is looking for an upgrade for you as well.
Siemian and Lynch do not need to concern themselves with the Romo flirtation. They simply need to be concerned with earning the starting quarterback spot on the Broncos.
Lynch will have a tall task ahead of him in trying to beat out Siemian, however. Broncos head coach Vance Joseph cleared the path as much as possible by declaring the spot up for grabs.
It is a 50-50 chance to win the spot between Lynch and Siemian.
The odds will be against Lynch. Siemian has the game experience from last season, he played well enough last season to earn the support of the majority of the team, and he will quickly learn offensive coordinator Mike McCoy’s new offense.
So how can Lynch take the job from Siemian?
Ball out. Leave no doubt. Don’t stutter in the huddle. Exude a confidence with every opportunity the creates the aura of a first-round talent.
Lynch will literally need to make it a clear-cut decision because if there is any seed of doubt in the coaching staff’s mind about who is better, 90 percent of the time NFL coaches will go with the veteran.
Siemian has earned the right to be the assumed starter from his teammates, but players take other players jobs time and time again every season in the NFL.
Will Lynch take Siemian’s job? I don’t know, but I do know that I hope whoever the starter is next season earned the job because he ran away with it.
