Paxton Lynch’s comeback run in the arena game lasted about as long as it takes for bad luck to catch up.
The former Denver Broncos first-round quarterback—drafted in 2016 in one of the biggest shockers of that year—has now suffered a torn LCL while playing for the Colorado Spartans of the National Arena League before the 2026 season. Misryoum newsroom reported that Lynch was in his third game with the Spartans when the injury happened, and that he’s been dealing with the kind of setback that makes any “just keep playing” plan feel a bit fragile.
Lynch’s NFL story is a short one on paper. He only played five NFL games, then moved around the league from practice squad to practice squad. Misryoum editorial desk noted that he was last seen on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ roster in 2020. After that, the path got less linear—more grind than spotlight—until he landed in arena football and tried to make it count.
He wasn’t hiding how frustrated he felt, either. Lynch told the Denver Post he was “p—ed off,” adding: “And it sucks. I didn’t want it to be like this.” Misryoum analysis indicates that the way he talked about it also sounded familiar—equal parts anger and acceptance—like he knew he’d finally found a place to play again, and then the body said “not today.”
What’s interesting is how much he connected his return to identity. Lynch suggested he was looking at arena football as a fresh start, basically telling himself that if he was going to step on the field, he was going to do it as Paxton Lynch. He told Misryoum newsroom reporting he was “OK, if I play this year in arena football, I’m going to play as Paxton Lynch,” and that he didn’t really care about anything else. “It felt good to do that again,” he said. And yeah, you can hear the relief in it—like a weight coming off, even if the league is different.
Before the injury, the results were there in a small sample. Misryoum editorial team stated that he had three touchdown passes in three games with Colorado. Javin Kilgo replaced him at quarterback, and through five games Colorado is 2-3. If you were at one of those games—say, standing near the sideline where you can feel the arena air turn warm with the noise—then the shift from Lynch to Kilgo would’ve been obvious fast. One player’s rhythm changes, the whole offense tries to recalibrate. And now, with Lynch sidelined, the Spartans have to keep moving forward while he deals with rehab.
Lynch also told Misryoum newsroom reporting he wasn’t sure if he would play in 2027. But if the National Arena League is where his career ends, he said he’d be fine with that. That part reads like a quiet decision made in advance—because when the NFL doesn’t hold you, you either keep chasing or you build a plan you can live with. For now, though, the plan has an injury-shaped hole, and it’s hard not to wonder what the next chapter even looks like—actually, it’s hard not to feel that way.
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