Lammey: Lynch could be Broncos starting QB sooner rather than later
Nov 19, 2017, 10:58 PM | Updated: Mar 12, 2023, 7:36 pm
With a sixth loss in a row Sunday, 20-17 to the Cincinnati Bengals, and a record of 3-7, the Denver Broncos season is circling the drain.
And with Denver likely out of the playoff picture in the AFC, the team could turn to 2016 first-round pick Paxton Lynch to start at quarterback.
Lynch failed to win the starting job each of the last two seasons, with two coaching staffs determining he wasn’t good enough for the top spot on the depth chart. And, he certainly has the looks of a bust for the Broncos.
But nobody is really sure of what his future holds for Lynch in Denver.
The team moved up five spots in the 2016 NFL draft (31 to 26) to pick Lynch, and this week might be when they make the switch to evaluation mode with the quarterback and other young players on the roster.
When asked whether it’s time to start Lynch under center, Broncos head coach Vance Joseph didn’t a clear answer.
“We’ll see. We’re going to watch the tape and see where we are as an offense, Joseph said after Sunday’s game. “Obviously, he’s healthy now. He’s a young player with talent. We’ll see.”
So, what does “We’ll see” in coach speak translate to in plain English?
It means Lynch should be the team’s starter sooner rather than later.
It’s not that current starter Brock Osweiler, who took over for Trevor Siemian in Week 9, has been terrible. But the team is winless under his guidance, and he may be best suited to play as a backup moving forward in the NFL.
Osweiler, however, said he wasn’t “worried” about any added pressure with Lynch, a now-healthy first-round pick, on his heels.
“I’m never going to look over my shoulder,” Osweiler said. “I’m just going to show up to the building every single day and be myself, work as hard as I possibly can, and everything will take care of itself. That’s how I look at that.”
The veteran quarterback is not feeling the pressure, and he may not be seeing the starting lineup again this season.
The Broncos need to find its franchise quarterback as soon as possible. And there’s a good chance that player is not currently on their roster.
The only way to make a clean break from Lynch is to see whether he can play at a high level or show signs of development with a chance to start multiple games.
It’s not outlandish to expect the Broncos to make a switch to Lynch sometime this week.
