Paxton Lynch might be entering his final chance to prove he deserves a spot on the Denver Broncos' roster.
Entering Thursday night's final preseason tilt versus the Arizona Cardinals, Lynch is firmly behind 2017 seventh-round pick Chad Kelly and starter Case Keenum.
"Obviously you think about it, you're not happy about it, but I've got to do what I've got to do with the hand that's been dealt to me," Lynch said of sitting at No. 3 on the depth chart, via ESPN's Jeff Legwold. "And that's what I'm doing, I'm working my tail off."
Kelly has flashed command, proper ball placement, pop in his arm, and exudes confidence this preseason. Lynch has pretty much been the opposite. The former first-round pick struggles reading defenses, owns poor pocket presence, consistently misses receivers, and instills little confidence.
Kelly owns a robust 107.8 passer rating during the preseason, completing 28 of 41 tosses for 340 yards, three touchdowns, one interception and an 8.3 average per attempt. He will start Thursday's preseason tilt and is expected to play the first half.
Lynch, who has a 42.6 QB rating, completing just 14 of 29 passes for 102 yards and one interception and 3.5 yards per attempt in three preseason games, will finish out Thursday tussle with the Cards.
"I'm not worried about anything past the next day, which is [Wednesday], we come out here and have our practice and then travel to Arizona and then have our meetings there," Lynch said Tuesday. "That's what I'm focused on. I'm focused on going out and playing well on Thursday."
Lynch added that he hopes to remain in Denver.
"Absolutely, I love it here, I've said that since day one, I wanted to be the guy here," he said. "I've gone through some things, I've struggled, haven't played well at times and at times I have played well. I've just got to find that consistency, constantly playing well and I know I can get there."
With John Elway openly considering adding a veteran, Lynch's best shot at retaining his roster spot is to play well enough Thursday, and hope Kelly secures the No. 2 spot. If the Broncos decide to keep just two QBs or add a veteran backup, it would spell the end of the first-round pick in Denver.
