As the start of the NFL season is just around the corner, teams are finalizing their rosters. That means releasing players to trim things down. Recent moves included quarterback Paxton Lynch cut from the Seattle Seahawks roster. That makes for his second team to drop him in two seasons.
Paxton Lynch cut by second NFL team
Lynch entered the league as a first-round pick just three years ago. His first official team was the Denver Broncos, but he played a total of just five games while part of their roster.
According to Football-Reference, Lynch ended up throwing for 792 yards and four touchdowns in two seasons there before he was cut by Denver. He didn’t participate in the 2018-19 NFL season.
Now it appears that he may be watching from the sidelines again. The Seattle Times’ Bob Condotta reported on Friday that although Lynch is waived he could stick around on the Seahawks’ practice squad.
A source tells the Seattle Times is that Paxton Lynch has been waived. So Geno Smith the backup QB. No surprise there. Seahawks may try to keep Lynch on the practice squad.
— bcondotta (@bcondotta) August 30, 2019
Per ESPN, Seattle originally brought in Lynch on a futures deal he signed back in January. However, they also signed Geno Smith to let the two compete for the backup role on the roster. Both QBs participated in the preseason.
Lynch played in this past Thursday’s final preseason game for the Seahawks. He only had four yards passing on 1-of-7 completions. For the NFL preseason, he was 18-of-37 to get 180 yards along with a touchdown. He was never intercepted this preseason. He also had an impressive rushing TD against his former team in Week 1.
.@PaxtonLynch lays out for the @Seahawks TD! #DENvsSEA pic.twitter.com/IUbr8Via3w
— NFL (@NFL) August 9, 2019
Backup Geno Smith may have knee issue
With Paxton Lynch cut, it leaves Geno Smith as Wilson’s sole backup. However, that’s how Seattle rolls, as they only keep two quarterbacks on their active roster. Smith was the New York Jets’ No. 39 pick in 2013.
For his 2019 preseason stats, he recorded 18-of-34 with 282 yards and two touchdowns thrown. Like Lynch, Smith wasn’t intercepted either. The only question mark hanging over Smith at the moment is he’s been dealing with what he describes as a “little tweak” to his left knee.
During the recent game, his knee got rolled on. Smith indicated he was feeling OK despite being unable to finish Thursday’s preseason game. There was also the potential for the backup QB to get an MRI done. Earlier this preseason, he missed the Week 2 game after having surgery to get a cyst removed in the knee, per ESPN.
Seattle opens their regular season schedule on September 8. They’ll host the Cincinnati Bengals in a game at 4:05 p.m. Eastern Time with Russell Wilson scheduled to be on the field as the starter.