Broncos Sign Paxton Lynch

5:06pm: Lynch’s deal, which is now official, includes $600K in guarantees for the fourth year. This is the first time anyone picked in Lynch’s slot range (26th overall) has secured guaranteed money for Year 4, reports James Palmer of NFL Network (Twitter link).

10:21am: Broncos first-round pick Paxton Lynch will put pen to paper on his contract today, as Mike Klis of 9NEWS tweets. Lynch was selected with the No. 26 overall pick in April. Paxton Lynch (vertical)

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Lynch is being counted upon to be the Broncos’ quarterback of the future following Peyton Manning‘s retirement and Brock Osweiler‘s departure via free agency. The question is, will he also be the Broncos’ primary quarterback of the present? Denver traded for Mark Sanchez this offseason with the idea that he could either serve as the team’s starter or No. 2 QB in 2016, depending on how the rest of the offseason unfolded. Given his experience, Sanchez would seem to have the upper hand on the starting job for Week 1, but the two QBs will be in competition this summer. This week, the Broncos had Sanchez working with the first team, second-year QB Trevor Siemian with the second team, and Lynch with the third unit. Of course, that order is not expected to last.

As directed by his slot, Lynch will earn $9.5MM over four years, plus a fifth-year option. He’ll also earn a signing bonus worth roughly $5.1MM.

Of course, the Broncos weren’t the only team looking to take Lynch late in the first round. The Cowboys worked feverishly to move up for the Memphis quarterback and proposed a trade to the Jets that would have given them the No. 20 selection.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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