The Denver Broncos finally got Paxton Lynch into a game Sunday for the first time all year after a shoulder injury cost him the first 10 games of the season. Then he suffered an ankle injury against the Oakland Raiders, which will cost him at least a couple more weeks, per James Palmer of NFL Network.
The Broncos are now back to square one with Trevor Siemian as the starter, and Brock Osweiler presumably will back him up.
Paxton Lynch will be out 2-4 weeks with ankle injury and Trevor Siemian will be the quarterback.
— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) November 27, 2017
This is a very frustrating development for both the Broncos at an organizational level and for Lynch on a personal level. Before he was forced out of Sunday’s game, the second-year passer had only managed 41 yards on 9-of-14 passing with no touchdowns and one interception.
Lynch was clearly emotional afterward, and he was seen crying on the bench.
For all intents an purposes, this means the 2017 season was a wasted one, both for the Broncos and Lynch. The team is 3-8 heading into Week 13 and has lost seven straight games. Lynch might get one or two more games if he comes back and gets healthy, but really, at this point it seems likely Siemian will close out the season as the starter.
Next year, Denver will have to go back to the drawing board.