Paxton Lynch Expected to Start over Brock Osweiler vs. Chiefs, Vance Joseph Says

Denver Broncos head coach Vance Joseph announced Tuesday that Paxton Lynch would start for the team's Week 17 game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

"The plan is to start Paxton," Joseph said, per Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post. "He wasn't quite ready last week so hopefully he's ready to go this week. That's the plan, to start Paxton this week. We want to see him play. That's been the goal the last couple of weeks and that hasn't happened."

He added: "Our first goal is to win a football game, obviously. But, again, with it being a quarterback issue going into the offseason, we want to see him play to see what (kind of) player he is."

The Broncos haven't gotten much of a look at Lynch since selecting him with the No. 26 overall pick in the 2016 NFL draft. During his rookie season, he appeared in just three games and threw for for 497 yards, two touchdowns and an interception while completing just 59 percent of his passes. 

He then failed to win the starting job heading into the 2017 season, as Trevor Siemian was named the starter in the preseason. Less than a week later, Lynch sprained his right shoulder and didn't return to practice until late October. 

Brock Osweiler was named the team's starter in early November, but the Broncos didn't waste much time getting Lynch onto the field once he was fully healthy, starting him in Week 12 against the Oakland Raiders.

Lynch's time as the starter lasted all of three quarters, however, as he suffered a high-ankle sprain in that contest and hasn't played since.  

For the Broncos, the quarterback carousel has defined their disappointing 5-10 season. An upgrade could be on the horizon, however.

The Broncos will have a top-10 pick in this year's draft, which should feature some talented QB prospects, including Josh Rosen, Sam Darnold, Baker Mayfield and Josh Allen. Kirk Cousins and Jimmy Garoppolo could become free agents (though it's hard to imagine San Francisco would fail to sign Garoppolo to a huge contract extension), while the Broncos could attempt to pry a veteran such as Eli Manning from the New York Giants in a trade. 

If Joseph and executive vice president of football operations and general manager John Elway are convinced Lynch is a viable franchise quarterback, however, they can address other positions of need this offseason.

But one game may not be enough to sway them, especially considering Lynch couldn't beat out Siemian—who was dreadful this year, throwing 12 touchdowns and 14 interceptions—during the preseason. Osweiler (1,088 yards, five touchdowns, five interceptions, 55.8 completion percentage) isn't the answer either.

The Broncos may want the opportunity to get another look at Lynch, but it's hard to imagine they won't make upgrading the quarterback position the No. 1 priority of their offseason regardless of his play Sunday.