Paxton Lynch could get the Shane Ray treatment.

In his latest Denver Broncos mailbag, 9News reporter Mike Klis floated his belief that the team is unlikely to pick up Lynch's fifth-year option for 2020, a decision which they must confront in May of next year.

"At this point, the odds are against the Broncos picking up his fifth-year option as Lynch is slated to be a backup quarterback for a third consecutive season," he wrote.

Those looking to quickly dump the first-round bust shouldn't get their hopes up, however. Klis "wouldn’t be surprised" if Denver retains -- rather than trades -- Lynch in 2019, given his cheap $1.74 million salary (of which just $600,000 is guaranteed) and non-existent trade value.

Considering Case Keenum is on a two-year deal, the Broncos would have only one QB, Chad Kelly, under contract for 2020 if they were to decline Lynch's option. This isn't ideal, obviously, but much can (and will) change over the following 24 months.

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All that's known now is Lynch will compete with Kelly for the right to back up Keenum. He took a minor lead during May Organized Team Activities and June minicamp practices, showing solid command of Bill Musgrave's offense.

“Very comfortable, very comfortable," Lynch said. "It's good to have that. Last year toward the end of the season when he took over and started calling some plays, it was really good to kind of have that under my belt and to get some game reps under that too. [There is] some roll-over in this offense even though there's a lot of different things, but there's some similarities.”

Lynch has made only five career appearances, the last coming in the Broncos' 2017 finale against the Chiefs. His 254-yard, two-touchdown effort was an improvement on his previous start in Oakland, where he finished injured and in tears.

For a developmental signal-caller, good or bad, live reps are everything. The best way to truly learn is by doing, not watching. But hanging on the sidelines is advantageous when you're behind a true, experienced veteran, such as Keenum.

The well-traveled journeyman, who spun a career year with the Vikings into his long-awaited starting role, has bestowed onto Lynch the intangible qualities he didn't (couldn't) learn from Trevor Siemian.

Qualities that will help him now and beyond, into the great unknown.

“The biggest thing is you've just got to keep your head down and keep working and know what you're capable of," Lynch said. "Know your abilities, be confident in your abilities and continue to be confident in yourself so those guys can be confident in you. Because that's the thing about the NFL, you never know when you're going to get your chance to go out and take over. That's what I'm working for, and that's what I'm going to be prepared for.”