ENGLEWOOD, Colo. – Step away from the edge, calm down and take a deep breath, Paxton Lynch is still a rookie.
In a year when rookie quarterbacks have well outplayed their first-year label, the expectations of other rookies have risen, causing concern about the Denver Broncos rookie quarterback’s potential in the league.
On Monday, a day after a forgettable second career start for the quarterback against the Jacksonville Jaguars—12-for-24 for 104 yards and a quarterback rating of 61.8—Gary Kubiak cooled the breaks on the criticism of Lynch.
“I just think it’s a guy who went out and played his second start…he’s a young kid,” the coach said. “But I’m excited about some of the things I’ve seen, and I’m also excited about things I know we can correct that are going to help him out. He’s a hard worker; he’s a good kid. Yeah, he can make some more plays, he knows that, and I have confidence that he will.”
Kubiak pointing to Lynch’s youth to attribute his poor play isn’t an unfair excuse. In John Elway’s second career start, he had a very similar stat line to Lynch: 9-for-21 for 106 yards and a 58.8 quarterback rating. While Kubiak didn’t compare Lynch with any former players, he was very optimistic about Lynch’s future in the NFL.
“Oh God,” he said quickly when asked if there are any concerns about the rookie’s development. “I think this guy’s got a brilliant career ahead of him and I’m really excited.”
With Trevor Siemian’s status for Sunday’s game against the Tennessee Titans still up in the air, it isn’t unknown when Lynch will get another chance to continue his career on the playing field. Whenever that will be, Sunday’s game left him with plenty of learning moments.
“Now it’s time to adjust, still a young overall player,” Kubiak said. “He’ll learn a lot from this game, he missed two big plays off of a boot that could have been touchdowns for us, but he’ll learn from that and be better because of it.”
Whether it is in a backup role or a starting role, Lynch will have plenty of time to improve, starting with practice and down the road when he gets his shot.
“The more you play those things get better for you. He’s got two starts under his belt,” Kubiak said. “As he goes through his career and continues to practice and get opportunities he will improve more upon those things.”
In life, as well as in the NFL, they say practice makes perfect. Sunday’s game was just Lynch’s second start, and while there was plenty to be concerned about; the Broncos aren’t worried about their young quarterback.
