Denver Broncos: Five veteran QBs to replace Paxton Lynch
By Andrew Wade
After a poor showing by Paxton Lynch, the Denver Broncos should be in the market for a veteran. Who are the best options available for them to acquire?
Paxton Lynch was seen as a project coming out of Memphis in 2016. Despite possessing all of the physical traits, the offense he ran in Memphis was significantly less complex than NFL schemes.
Knowing this, the Denver Broncos traded up in the first round after Peyton Manning’s retirement to select the tall quarterback.
In today’s NFL, first-round quarterbacks are expected to produce quickly regardless of how much growth they actually should take before starting an NFL game. With Paxton, this was no different and it showed.
Former Broncos head coach (and current front office personnel) Kubiak decided that second-year player and former seventh-round draft pick, Trevor Siemian, was more apt to start than Lynch was his rookie season. This was the smart long-term play.
If you can avoid placing a rookie quarterback under the fire, then do it.
Aaron Rodgers sat for multiple years behind Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre before finally starting in Green Bay. Unfortunately, Denver has not had a Brett Favre-type of quarterback in the last two seasons causing growing angst within Broncos Country to see what Lynch could do.
Siemian performed admirably in his first year as a starter but was not good enough to lead Denver back to the playoffs. Heading into year two of the Paxton Lynch experiment, many Bronco fans expected one year on the bench would be enough time for Lynch to grow and supplant Trevor.
It wasn’t.
Siemian again started the season as the first-string quarterback, but after struggling down the stretch, Vance Joseph decided to see what he had sitting on the bench. Lynch got two starts and struggled mightily in both. This was enough for Elway to go out and grab a bridge starting quarterback in Case Keenum this offseason.
Many, like myself, felt this was the right move. It would give Lynch time to continue his development behind an established veteran. In just one game of the preseason, it appears Lynch may actually have regressed.
This is causing an outcry from Broncos fan all over to cut the losses on Lynch.
It also has to be causing concern with John Elway that backing Keenum up is a probable first-round bust and a former Mr. Irrelevant (albeit, a very good one).
The Broncos defense is tops in the league and Elway did a fantastic job of revamping the offense.
As Case Keenum showed last year with Minnesota, it’s important to have a backup quarterback that can come in and win some games.
So far, it does not appear that there is that guy currently on the roster. In search of a veteran quarterback, here are five guys Denver could potentially target in the coming weeks.