Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback Paxton Lynch has made an impression on offensive coordinator Jason Maas.
According to Maas, Lynch had one week to learn the offence prior to stepping on the field with the Riders and the 27-year-old produced a “very good” training camp overall. His performance stood out and earned him a spot on the team as the third-string QB.
“He did a lot of studying, which was noticed by me right away. We put in 25 plays the first night we talked and the next day or two he knew ’em. That’s huge, that means he’s studying and he’s understanding it and he’s grasping it,” Maas said.
“Our offence isn’t easy to learn for anybody, in particular a quarterback. Most of those guys had three or four months, you look at Isaac [Harker] and Cody [Fajardo] they had over a year to learn a lot of it. I thought he did a tremendous job staying cool and even keel.”
Lynch acclimated himself to the CFL brand of football quick enough during camp to earn the trust of Maas and the rest of the Riders football operations department. Even though Lynch earned north of $8.8 million in the NFL, he’s still hungry to prepare like a pro and play football at a high level in the three-down league.
“The thing I did tell him was: ‘It’s great that you’re here, I know he wants to be here and he wants to be better and improve — every single day is an opportunity to do that here,” Maas said.
“We have great facilities, it’s a professional atmosphere, as much film as he wants to watch, as much working out as he wants to do, if he wants to go out and throw in a great facility and grab a receiver, he can do that. He can hone his craft every day, all year.”
Lynch’s compensation for the current year includes $65,000 in base salary, $3,600 in housing, and a $200-per-game active roster bonus. He can also earn an extra $500 for every game in which he plays 51 percent or more of the offensive snaps.
“The thing about it is, being the third guy this year, you’re not on the roster. You’re not going to be dressing up, but you’re still two plays away from playing,” Maas said.
“He still has to stay locked in to our meetings and understand the game plans that we’re putting forth. Just getting more comfortable and I think he’ll do that every day, it’ll happen, but he has to put in the lonely work, like we like to call it, in order for that to happen.”
The former first-round NFL Draft pick signed a two-year contract with Saskatchewan in June which runs through the end of the 2022 campaign. However, it does include an NFL window if teams from south of the border coming calling after the 2021 season.
For Lynch to make use of the out clause in his pact, he’ll need to prove he can play in Canada at a high level.
