Denver Broncos head coach Vance Joseph would not guarantee that Paxton Lynch would play any snaps against the Redskins on Friday.
The NFL is a brutal business, and it’s been an especially brutal offseason for Denver Broncos quarterback Paxton Lynch.
The former first-round pick was competing for the team’s starting position one year ago, and now he’s been pushed down the depth chart behind 2017 seventh-round pick (and Mr. Irrelevant) Chad Kelly.
Lynch has regressed from what he showed even as a rookie in the 2016 preseason and regular season, dealing with different coordinators, position coaches, and injuries.
Ahead of the team’s third preseason game against the Washington Redskins, Broncos head coach Vance Joseph would not make any concrete statement of whether or not Lynch would play at all.
Also Wednesday, in what isn't great news for Paxton Lynch, Broncos coach Vance Joseph wouldn't offer any certainty about if Lynch would play in Friday night's game against the Washington Redskins. He said Case Keenum will be at quarterback as long as... https://t.co/MeemmSz3QY
— Jeff Legwold (@Jeff_Legwold) August 22, 2018
The Broncos’ starters are going to play into the second half in all likelihood, and after that, Chad Kelly will take over.
Lynch will get ‘what’s left’ according to Joseph, which implies that there may or may not be anything left.
Joseph did say that if a player is dressed for the game, he’s got a chance to play, but the third preseason game is generally considered the ‘dress rehearsal’ for the regular season.
The fourth preseason game will likely be an opportunity for Lynch to do some things, as the starters often don’t even play at all in that game.
The Broncos would obviously like to see some things from their offense which has so many new pieces this year, so perhaps they will buck that trend and let the starting unit (or at least some players from it) play at the beginning of the final preseason game.
Even still, the fact that Lynch has gone from splitting reps with the starters a year ago to perhaps being a healthy scratch in a preseason game is a shocking development.
The Broncos could be positioning themselves for a trade with Lynch if they ultimately decide to hold him out altogether and not risk injury.