Former first-round pick Paxton Lynch lands in CFL

Paxton Lynch’s NFL career is over, at least for now, as the former first-round pick is headed north of the border.

Lynch, a 2016 first-round pick by the Denver Broncos, signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the CFL, the team announced Monday. The move comes after the quarterback spent the 2020 season on the sidelines after not making the Pittsburgh Steelers’ final roster.

Lynch was supposed to be Peyton Manning’s long-term successor in Denver, but lasted just two seasons there. The Broncos actually traded up to get him, but he made little progress and made only four starts in two years. He bounced around as a backup after that.

Lynch certainly hasn’t been happy with how his NFL career went, but the fact that he’s been forced into the CFL suggests that NFL teams simply didn’t see fit to give him an opportunity anymore. Perhaps a good showing there could give him a route back into the NFL, but that’s a long shot at this point.