Paxton Lynch

Paxton James Lynch[1] (born February 12, 1994) is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. He played college football at Memphis, and was drafted in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos. Lynch played just two seasons in Denver and made four starts before being released prior to the 2018 season. Lynch has also been a member of the Seattle Seahawks and Pittsburgh Steelers.

Paxton Lynch
Lynch with the Denver Broncos in 2016
Free agent
Position:Quarterback
Personal information
Born: (1994-02-12) February 12, 1994
San Antonio, Texas
Height:6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Weight:244 lb (111 kg)
Career information
High school:Trinity Christian Academy
(Deltona, Florida)
College:Memphis
NFL Draft:2016 / Round: 1 / Pick: 26
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career NFL statistics as of 2019
Completion percentage:61.7
TD–INT:4–4
Passing yards:792
Passer rating:76.7
Player stats at NFL.com

Early years

Lynch attended Trinity Christian Academy in Deltona, Florida, where he played football and basketball.[2] During his high school career, he passed for 2,099 yards. Lynch was rated by Rivals.com as a three-star recruit.[3] He committed to the University of Memphis to play college football.[4][5]

College career

After redshirting for his freshman year at Memphis in 2012, Lynch was named the Tigers' starting quarterback prior to the 2013 season.[6][7] He started all 12 games, completing 203 of 349 passes for 2,056 yards, nine touchdowns and 10 interceptions.[8] As a sophomore in 2014, Lynch started all 13 games. He completed 259 of 413 attempts for 3,031 yards, 22 touchdowns, and nine interceptions. He also rushed for 321 yards and 13 touchdowns.[9][10][11] Lynch was named the MVP of the 2014 Miami Beach Bowl after passing for 306 yards with four passing touchdowns and three rushing touchdowns.[12] As a junior in 2015, Lynch again started all 13 games. He completed 296 of 443 passes (66.8%) for 3,778 yards, 28 touchdowns (all five school records)[13][14] and four interceptions. In Memphis' 63–0 victory over SMU, Lynch tied an FBS record with seven passing touchdowns in a half. He finished 9 of 14 for 222 yards, and completed his touchdown throws to seven different receivers.[15][16] After the season, he decided to forgo his senior year and enter the 2016 NFL Draft.[17] Lynch graduated from Memphis in May 2016 with a B.S.E. in sport and leisure management.[1]

Lynch's 35 touchdowns responsible for in 2014 and 30 in 2015 are first and second in Memphis history, and his 76 for his career is second all-time. He also ranks first and second for most total offense in a season (4,015 yards in 2015; 3,352 in 2014).[18] He has four of the seven most passing yards in a game, including the school record 447 on October 23, 2015 at Tulsa.[19] He ranks second all-time in career attempts, completions, completion percentage, passing yards, and passing touchdowns.[14]

Statistics
YearTeamPassingRushing
CmpAttPctYdsY/ATDIntRtgAttYdsAvgTD
2013Memphis20334958.22,0565.9910110.4881271.42
2014Memphis25941362.73,0317.3229137.61133212.813
2015Memphis29644366.83,7768.5284157.5872392.72
Career7581,20562.98,8637.45923137.02886872.417

Source:[20]

Professional career

Lynch was predicted to be selected in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft by draft analysts and in mock drafts prior to the draft. He was rated the third best quarterback in the 2016 draft by NFLDraftScout.com.[21]

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand size 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Wonderlic
6 ft 6 5⁄8 in
(2.00 m)		 244 lb
(111 kg)		 34 1⁄4 in
(0.87 m)		 10 1⁄4 in
(0.26 m)		 4.86 s 1.69 s 2.81 s 4.26 s 7.14 s 36 in
(0.91 m)		 9 ft 10 in
(3.00 m)		 18[22]
All values from NFL Combine[21]

2016
Lynch in 2016

The Denver Broncos selected Lynch in the first round (26th overall) of the 2016 NFL Draft in a pick acquired from the Seattle Seahawks for their first and third round pick.[23] He was the third of 15 quarterbacks taken, behind Jared Goff and Carson Wentz, the #1 and #2 overall picks.[24] On June 9, 2016, the Broncos signed Lynch to a four-year, $9,476,296 contract with a $5,091,852 signing bonus.[25]

On October 2, 2016, Lynch played in his first NFL regular-season game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, replacing the injured Trevor Siemian. He finished with 170 passing yards on 14 of 24 attempts and threw his first career touchdown pass to wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders in a 27–7 road win at Raymond James Stadium.[26] In Week 5, Lynch started his first NFL game, completing 23 of 35 passes for 223 yards, one touchdown, and one interception in the 23–16 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. He was sacked six times, a record for a Broncos rookie.[27][28] In Week 13, Lynch again replaced the injured Siemian against the Jacksonville Jaguars, posting 12 completions on 24 passing attempts for 104 yards in a 20–10 win.[29] Overall, he finished his rookie season with 497 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, and one interception.[30]

2017

Lynch suffered a shoulder injury against the Green Bay Packers in the team's third preseason game of the 2017 season.[31] In Week 11 against the Cincinnati Bengals, Lynch was active for the first time that season and was the backup to Brock Osweiler.[32] On November 21, Lynch was named the team's starter for the Week 12 game against the Oakland Raiders.[33] Lynch completed 9 of 14 passes for 41 yards and an interception that occurred in the endzone, the Raiders' first interception of the season. Lynch left the game with an ankle injury in the third quarter and was relieved by Siemian for the remainder of the game as the Broncos lost 21–14.[34] A day after the game, it was announced that Lynch would miss two to four weeks due to his injury.[35] On December 31, Lynch started the regular season finale against the Kansas City Chiefs. In the 27–24 loss, he finished 21 of 31 for 254 passing yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions.[36]

2018

Going into mini-camps for the 2018 season, it was announced that Lynch would serve as backup quarterback, behind the newly acquired Case Keenum.[37] Two days after the Broncos preseason opener against the Minnesota Vikings, the team announced that Lynch had been demoted to third-string quarterback as Chad Kelly was promoted to backup. He was released by the Broncos on September 2, 2018, after the team acquired Kevin Hogan. In two seasons with the team, Lynch made just four starts and threw four touchdowns and four interceptions.[38]

Seattle Seahawks

On January 17, 2019, Lynch signed with the Seattle Seahawks after spending the 2018 season as a free agent.[39] He was waived on August 30, 2019 during final roster cuts.[40]

Pittsburgh Steelers

On September 17, 2019, Lynch was signed to the Pittsburgh Steelers practice squad.[41] He was promoted to the active roster on October 11, 2019 following an injury to Mason Rudolph.[42]

On September 5, 2020, Lynch was waived by the Steelers during final roster cuts.[43]

Statistics
YearTeamGPGSPassingRushing
CmpAttPctYdsY/ATDIntRtgAttYdsAvgTD
2016DEN 32498359.04976.02179.211252.30
2017DEN 22304566.72956.62372.05306.00
Career[44]547912861.77926.24476.716553.40

References
  1. "Bachelor of science in education" (PDF). Spring Convocation of the One-Hundred and Fourth Commencement. University of Memphis. May 7, 2016. p. 67. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 27, 2016. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  2. Romero, Iliana Limón. "Denver Broncos draft Deltona Trinity Christian grad Paxton Lynch". OrlandoSentinel.com. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  3. "Paxton Lynch".
  4. "Paxton Lynch's recruiting road had some detours before he got to Memphis". tribunedigital-orlandosentinel.
  5. "Lynch commits to Memphis". News-JournalOnline.com.
  6. "Memphis freshman Paxton Lynch QB preps for starting role".
  7. "Memphis Tigers coach Justin Fuente names Paxton Lynch starting QB".
  8. "Paxton Lynch 2013 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  9. "Paxton Lynch 2014 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  10. "After big sophomore season, Memphis' Paxton Lynch looking to live up to hype". News-JournalOnline.com.
  11. "Tigers continue to build behind QB Paxton Lynch". Oxford Citizen.
  12. South Florida Sun-Sentinel (December 22, 2014). "Miami Beach Bowl ends in brawl, overshadowing Memphis double overtime win against BYU – Sun Sentinel". Sun-Sentinel.com.
  13. "Paxton Lynch 2015 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  14. "Memphis Football Media Guide, 2016" (PDF). Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  15. "SMU at Memphis Box Score, November 28, 2015". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  16. "Paxton Lynch ties FBS record with seven TD passes in a half".
  17. "Highly rated Memphis Tigers QB Paxton Lynch declares for NFL draft". ESPN.com.
  18. "Memphis Tigers Passing". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  19. "Memphis vs. Tulsa - Game Summary - October 23, 2015". ESPN.com.
  20. "Paxton Lynch". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  21. "Paxton Lynch". nfldraftscout.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  22. "NFL Combine Profile: QB PAXTON LYNCH - MEMPHIS". NFL.com. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
  23. Legwold, Jeff. "Lynch drafted by Broncos in first round of 2016 NFL Draft". ESPN. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  24. "2016 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
  25. Wolfe, Cameron. "Paxton Lynch signs a four-year deal with Denver Broncos". Denver Post. Retrieved October 28, 2016.
  26. "Denver Broncos at Tampa Bay Buccaneers - October 2nd, 2016". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  27. "Atlanta Falcons at Denver Broncos - October 9th, 2016". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  28. Klis, Mike (October 9, 2016). "Falcons rattle Paxton Lynch, gash Broncos for win". usatoday.com. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
  29. "Denver Broncos at Jacksonville Jaguars - December 4th, 2016". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
  30. "Paxton Lynch 2016 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
  31. Jhabvala, Nicki (November 18, 2017). "Paxton Lynch set to be Broncos' backup QB vs. Bengals". denverpost.com. Retrieved November 19, 2017.
  32. "Broncos' Lynch will serve as Brock Osweiler's backup". sports.yahoo.com. Associated Press. November 19, 2017. Retrieved November 19, 2017.
  33. "Broncos to start Paxton Lynch at QB against Raiders". NFL.com. November 21, 2017. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  34. "Denver Broncos at Oakland Raiders - November 26th, 2017". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  35. Legwold, Jeff (November 27, 2017). "Denver QB Paxton Lynch out 2-4 weeks with high ankle sprain". espn.com. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
  36. "Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos - December 31st, 2017". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  37. Wesseling, Chris (May 1, 2018). "John Elway: Broncos not giving up on Paxton Lynch". nfl.com. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
  38. DiLalla, Aric (September 2, 2018). "Broncos awarded QB Kevin Hogan off waivers, waive QB Paxton Lynch". DenverBroncos.com.
  39. Henderson, Brady (January 17, 2019). "Seahawks sign Paxton Lynch as backup option". ESPN.com.
  40. Boyle, John (August 31, 2019). "Seahawks Make Roster Moves, Establish 53-Man Roster". Seahawks.com.
  41. Varley, Teresa (September 17, 2019). "Steelers place Davis on IR". Steelers.com.
  42. Varley, Teresa (October 11, 2019). "Steelers activate Lynch, Edmunds". Steelers.com.
  43. Saunders, Alan (September 5, 2020). "Steelers Release QB Paxton Lynch". Steelers Now. Retrieved September 6, 2020.
  44. "Paxton Lynch". pro-football-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 5, 2016.
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