Paxton Lynch comes to Rider camp not wanting to prove doubters wrong

The pro football career of Paxton Lynch has not gone the way he thought it would.

In 2016, the Denver Broncos drafted Lynch in the first-round of the NFL draft with hopes he could do what John Elway and Peyton Manning had done in the past which is guide them to a Super Bowl championship.   Lynch did not fare well in Denver or the NFL as he only started four games with the Broncos before having tryouts with Seattle and Pittsburgh that never resulted in anything.

The 27-year-old is trying to revive his career in Canada having signed a contract with the Saskatchewan Roughriders just before training camp started.

Lynch admits the three-down Canadian game is different from the four-down game he is used to.

“It’s been difficult.” Lynch told reporters on Monday. “A lot of the pre-snap stuff has been a big adjustment for me, but really when you break it all down and get down to the core of it, it’s really football, it’s the same, just different terminology and things like that concept-wise and footwork-wise.  All of the motion is very different to me, but before I got here, me and coach (Jason) Maas spent three and a half hours a day making sure I was ready.

Lynch says as he comes to Canada, he has something to prove, but not to the football community.

“I feel like I have something to prove to myself and the people who have had my back since I have started this process of playing a football as a kid.  The people who have supported my dream.” Lynch said. “I am going to do whatever I can and work as hard as I can to give myself the opportunity to play the game I love.

Lynch says he does hope to someday return to the NFL as he has dreamed of winning a Super Bowl and that he still has the fire to do that.  It’s a comment like that that might rub some the wrong way, but head coach Craig Dickenson says it is his expectation that every player should have a dream of playing in the NFL for a variety of reasons.

Day 3 Notes

Shaq Evans didn’t appear to run any routes with the top receiving group. Coach Dickenson said Shaq had some tightness but is not injured in any way. Dickenson praised Shaq for how he’s been coaching the other receivers since camp began.

Dan Clark and Garrett Marino were involved in the first scrap of training camp. Clark attributed it to not having been able to hit anyone over the last 18 months. Luc Mullinder praised the rookie, Marino, for his activity level on day 3.

Dickenson says offensive lineman Antonio Garcia will be the next player to be freed from his quarantine. He’s expected to practice for the first time on Wednesday.

 

 

 

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