Call it an exhibition. Sort of like a preseason game. Except the AFC West and potentially a No. 1 seed in the playoffs is on the line.
Mike Klis of 9News reported early Wednesday that the Denver Broncos will start Trevor Siemian at quarterback on Sunday against the Oakland Raiders, but that rookie Paxton Lynch will see playing time in the game.
So, in effect, the Broncos are treating their season finale like a preseason game.
The game is meaningless for the Broncos, who were eliminated from playoff contention officially on Christmas day, after losing three straight games in a row to run their record to 8-7.
With the 33-10 loss to Kansas City, there was some speculation that the rookie Lynch would start the game to further evaluate his development. Lynch, a first-round draft pick in 2016, started two games already this season in place of Siemian due to injury. Lynch lost at home against Atlanta in Week 5, then beat Jacksonville on the road in Week 13 – Denver’s only win since the bye week.
There are two schools of thought in this complicated scenario.
One is that Lynch needs as much live game experience as possible if he is going to compete for a starting job next season, so he should get the start. If he really is the future of the franchise at the position, these reps – in a game that is very important to the Raiders, who are still fighting for a division title – would be invaluable.
On the other side, if Lynch is definitely the future, there’s no reason to send him out against a very tough Oakland defensive front seven – especially if there is a chance that offensive line starters like Matt Paradis could be out – and risk injury. Lynch is a larger financial investment, as well, so the cost to lose him would be more damaging.
Kubiak, it seems, has hedged his bets on all fronts – both in 2016 and on the implications for 2017 – by treating this final, meaningless game like an exhibition.
