After a lackluster offseason and more struggles in training camp, Paxton Lynch once again laid an egg during the Denver Broncos’ first preseason game.
The former first-round pick out of Memphis managed just 24 yards on 6-of-11 passing, and he threw an interception into double coverage on his first attempt.
Meanwhile, Chad Kelly, who’s been rumored to be in play for the team’s second-string job since this spring, had a very strong game. Kelly, who missed all of his rookie season with a wrist injury, finished with 177 yards on 14-of-21 passing with two touchdowns and an interception.
After the game, head coach Vance Joseph praised Kelly.
“He played well tonight,” Joseph said, per the team’s website. “Outside of the one interception, which led to a score for those guys. He is a guy that plays with a lot of confidence. That’s a good deal.”
Joseph wouldn’t make any commitment to Kelly landing second-string reps in the next preseason game. However, he also didn’t say that’s not in the cards.
“We’ll see,” Joseph said. “We’ll watch the tape and see where we are. Obviously Case is the starter, so that’s my main concern.”
As they say, the tape doesn’t lie. And if that’s the measure that will determine whether Kelly deserves a shot to be Case Keenum’s backup, then he will get that shot.
Lynch, to this point, has yet to show he’s ever going to graduate from being an athletically gifted player to a guy who can deal with the speed and tight windows he sees at the NFL level.
At this point, with three years worth of history to show this, the Broncos owe it to themselves to see if Kelly can do what Lynch cannot seem to do.