Former first-round pick Paxton Lynch hopes CFL stint leads to NFL return

Quarterback Paxton Lynch didn't make it in NFL after the Denver Broncos spent a first-round draft pick to land him in 2016, and he found himself completely out of the league last September. 

The Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League announced in late June they signed Lynch, but the 27-year-old recently admitted during a videoconference the CFL wasn't necessarily his first choice for the next step of his career.

"The XFL just continued to get pushed back, I never really heard anything," Lynch said about the league that ceased operations in the spring of 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and isn't coming back before 2023 at the earliest, per John Hodge of 3DownNation. "I knew they were interested in having me here (in Regina). It was a good opportunity to play football and a good league and a good team, so I jumped on it whenever I realized that I needed to keep playing football and not sit out and continue to wait for any more options. This was the option and this was where I needed to be." 

Lynch added he "absolutely" hopes his stint with the Roughriders earns him another chance to make an NFL roster. 

"It’s always been my dream," he said. "As a kid, you dream of winning the Super Bowl and that fire inside of me to accomplish that is still there and it’s very strong. It hasn’t wavered at all, but I don’t want to get that confused with how I feel about being here because I’m very excited to be here." 

As was previously explained by 3DownNation, Cody Fajardo is currently Saskatchewan's starting QB and earned West Division Most Outstanding Player honors for the 2019 campaign. The CFL didn't hold a season last year because of the health crisis.