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Not even the signing of free agent Case Keenum could keep the Broncos from staging yet another quarterback competition this offseason.
This time it's a battle for the backup job.
After bypassing a quarterback in a draft that was deep on passing prospects Jerick McKinnon Jersey , general manager John Elway declared that Paxton Lynch and Chad Kelly would duke it out for the No. 2 job.
That served as a vote of confidence in Lynch, his 2016 first-round pick who hasn't been able to win the starting job, and a golden opportunity for Kelly, "Mr. Irrelevant" in 2017 as the last player picked in the draft.
"With Paxton, we still think he is young. We are not kicking him to the curb. He can still develop. When we drafted him two years ago, we knew it was going to take some time," Elway said. "Paxton is going to compete with Chad for that backup spot. We are not going to bring another one in for OTAs."
That marked the first time Elway had publicly mentioned Kelly as having a chance to win a roster spot a year after missing his entire rookie season while recovering from wrist and knee surgeries.
"I thought of it as, OK, perfect, I can get more reps," Kelly said Saturday after serving as the only quarterback during a 90-minute walkthrough that capped the Broncos' three-day rookie orientation. "I just look at it as another opportunity to get better each and every day and each and every rep."
Kelly's offseason work habits have resulted in a reshaped body.
Kelly said "eating a lot of spinach and chicken paid off instead of fried food. ... I came here and knew I needed to move around and get back to my old playing weight back in early college and high school. So, I'm kind of feeling I can move around and so some things with my legs but also be powerful in throwing the ball."
Kelly has impressed both on and off the field.
"Well, I've been proud of Chad overall George Blanda Jersey ," coach Vance Joseph said. "I mean, he's been here every day. He's worked his butt off. And he's changed his body. Last year he was a little tubby kid. He is really lean now. He's eating right. He's working hard. He's definitely put the work in.
"And he's throwing the ball really well right now."
So much so that bare hands are a bad idea for receivers, suggested tight end Jake Butt.
"He can rip that thing now," said Butt, who also sat out his rookie season. "You've definitely got to wear gloves. He'll be spinning that bad boy pretty tough. He's learning the offense, he's taking leadership, he's doing a great job."
Joseph insisted Lynch was handling himself fine, too.
In March, the Broncos declared Keenum the starter as soon as he signed. In April, they said Lynch would have to beat out Kelly for the backup job.
"I think Paxton's done a good job, also," Joseph said. "I think for Paxton and for our football team, it's been a weight off all of our backs to have a starting quarterback and have everyone's role defined from Day 1."
He said that allows Lynch to "relax and get better each day and not worry about a competition."
Joseph suggested Lynch could learn how to handle adversity from Keenum.
"Case has been through some ups and downs throughout his career. So Justin Jones Jersey , he can learn from Case on how to handle those things," Joseph said. "And it takes time to be an NFL quarterback. And you would hope with Case being here, he can sit back and relax and get better as a quarterback and not worry about being the guy right now and just compete to be our backup."
The Washington Capitals will play for a Stanley Cup championship Thursday night for the first time in 43 NHL seasons. Alex Ovechkin is one win away from carving his name into history at the peak of his incredible hockey career.
With a 3-1 lead in the Stanley Cup Final and a city thousands of miles away thirsting for its first championship in a generation, the Vegas stakes are awfully high for the Caps in Game 5.
Ovi still wants his teammates thinking about the Golden Knights, not that silver trophy.
”To be honest, I think most of us have never been in this position,” said Ovechkin, who could become the first Russian captain to raise the Cup. ”For me personally, I don’t try to think about it too much what’s going on and just try focusing on different things. But it’s hard.”
Exactly what could distract an athlete of Ovechkin’s magnitude from the imminent chance to validate his place in his sport?
”Whatever. Cars. Hotels. You know, Vegas.”
Indeed, this desert is a strange place to end a drought. But with three chances to get one win, Ovechkin and his teammates want to seize their very first opportunity for the clincher on the Las Vegas ice.
With one more victory, Ovechkin would finally have team success to complement his formidable individual accomplishments. The vaunted goal-scorer can also succeed where a generation of Washington athletes have fallen short by leading the Capitals to their first title and the city’s first major pro sports championship in a quarter-century.
With his 33rd birthday looming in the fall Montee Ball Jersey , Ovechkin understands the opportunity before him and the magnitude of the situation for everyone who has ever worn the Capitals’ jersey.
It’s enough to tighten anybody’s grip on the stick, but the Caps didn’t appear overly tight during their workout or in the dressing room afterward.
”It’s a great time,” Ovechkin said Wednesday. ”Probably the best time in my life, hockey-wise. We just enjoy it together, this moment. It’s fun.”
Even with a commanding series lead, the Caps all spoke of the importance of consistency and seizing the moment after their light workout. Washington has a shockingly lengthy franchise history of playoff collapses, but these Caps promptly won all three potential closeout games in their first three playoff series this spring.
”Maybe because we’ve talked about it so much,” Caps defenseman John Carlson said. ”Guys are sick of hearing about it from the meetings. Sick of not getting it done. They all kind of blend together, but I think we have come out with great efforts every closing-out game, and we’re going to need a big one. This is a good team at home. It’s going to take a really good effort to get it done.”
The Caps don’t have the luxury of thinking about the minor disappointment of not being at home to secure Washington’s first championship in a major pro sport since the Redskins’ Super Bowl victory in January 1992. Back home in D.C., fans will be cheering on their team at Capital One Arena in a watch party that sold out in about 20 minutes.
”I think the history of the organization is definitely an important thing, but we’re focused on this group,” Washington’s Tom Wilson said. ”We’re focused on this year Eddie Yarbrough Jersey , and obviously once all is said and done or whatever happens, you can look back on it. We want to do it for the city. We want to do it for ourselves.”
So far in this series, the Caps have done just about everything well. Washington has scored 16 goals in four games against the reeling Golden Knights, whose charmed expansion season has run short of magic in three consecutive losses.
While the Caps focused on changing nothing from their last three efforts, the Golden Knights also don’t believe they need a wholesale change. Coach Gerard Gallant’s team is banking on the resilience of a group that hasn’t lost four consecutive games at any point in their utterly charmed inaugural season.
”It’s not the first adversity we’ve faced this year,” forward Jonathan Marchessault said. ”You’d rather have the odds in your favor, but I’m thinking about (Game 5). If you start thinking that we have to win three games, sometimes it gets demoralizing. We’re just focused on the next one. … They’re in a better situation than us, that’s for sure. Stuff we’ve done this year has never been done, so I think that’s what we’re thinking about.”
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