Chris_Tanaka's Blog

John Lynch is leaving the Broncos.  He's been given permission to "explore other options".  IE: Seek emplyoment with another team, seek employment in television, or retire. 

Chances are, it'll be option A.  Such is the business in the NFL.  Lynch is aging, and isn't as versatile a player as some of the Broncos younger bucks.  Hence, he's expendable.  Never mind the fact that he's one of the best guys in the locker room (or anyone's locker room).  Never mind that he's hyperactive in the community (or any community). He's expendable.

And now, he's no longer with the Broncos.  It's a tough fact of life.  The NFL is a soulless automaton that keeps on rolling.  It rolls over and through all the individuals who play the game.  Yeah, some are immortalized in Canton, OH (as Gary Zimmerman will be this weekend).  But the price is usually steep, and extracted in flesh.

So should John Lynch keep playing?

Only if he wants to.  He should feel absolutely ZERO responsibility to the league, or his former team, to don on the jersey for one more go-'round.  After all, in a league that shows no loyalty to the player, why should the player show any back?

John Lynch is a good player, a better man, and I wish him the best of luck wherever he lands next.  Broncos fans and receivers may have to swallow hard if he reappears in the Chargers defensive backfield this year.  But hey, such is the business.