Report: Broncos Cut Former First-Round Pick Paxton Lynch

The Broncos are reportedly cutting Lynch, whom they took the first round of the 2016 draft.

The Broncos released quarterback Paxton Lynch shortly after acquiring former Redskins quarterback Kevin Hogan off waivers on Sunday, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.

Denver drafted Lynch in the first round of the 2016 NFL draft out of Memphis. He started four total games for the Broncos over the past two seasons, completing 61.7% of his passes for 792 yards, four touchdowns and four interceptions. Last season, Lynch struggled to stay healthy. He suffered a shoulder A/C joint sprain during the preseason prior to nursing a high ankle sprain that rendered him unavailable for a stretch of contests.

This offseason, Denver signed former Vikings quarterback Case Keenum to a two-year, $36 million deal, pushing Lynch into a backup role entering the preseason. But Lynch was unable to secure the Broncos’ No. 2 spot, and was supplanted by rookie Chad Kelly for the role following the preseason opener.

Lynch survived the Broncos’ final cut on Saturday and made the 53-man roster. During a press conference after the final roster was announced, Denver general manager John Elway said: “That decision was made because, looking at the situation and with Chad not having a lot of experience and not having played in a regular-season game before, we thought that we had to go with three quarterbacks and Paxton was our third.”

Although Kelly bears no NFL experience, the newly-added Hogan does. Over two years, the Stanford product has appeared in eight career games, all with the Cleveland Browns, including one start last season.