Ex-NFL first-round pick suffers season-ending knee injury while attempting pro comeback in arena league

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The Denver Broncos took a flyer on quarterback Paxton Lynch during the 2016 NFL Draft, selecting him in the first round that year in one of the event’s biggest shockers.

However, the former Memphis Tigers standout would only play five NFL games before he bounced around the league from practice squad to practice squad. He was last seen on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ roster in 2020.

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Denver Broncos quarterback Paxton Lynch throws a pass against the Arizona Cardinals during a preseason game at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., on Aug. 30, 2018. (Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports)

Lynch was attempting to find a route back into the NFL and landed with the Colorado Spartans of the National Arena League before the 2026 season. He was in his third game with the Spartans when he suffered a torn LCL.

"I was p---ed off," he told The Denver Post. "And it sucks. I didn’t want it to be like this."

Lynch appeared to take solace in being able to play again – even if it was in an indoor football league. He suggested he was up for the challenge.

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Paxton Lynch trains at Heinz Field during the Steelers 2020 training camp on Aug. 4, 2020, in Pittsburgh, Pa. (Karl Roser/Pittsburgh Steelers)

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"I was like, ‘OK, if I play this year in arena football, I’m going to play as Paxton Lynch. I’m going to have full confidence in myself. I don’t really care.’ And that’s what I did," he told the paper.

"It felt good to do that again."

He had three touchdown passes in three games with Colorado. Javin Kilgo