Had John Lynch not gotten the queasy feeling in his gut a few weeks back, he may well have been a starting safety for a 2-0 Broncos team.
Instead, Lynch, a nine-time Pro Bowler, asked for his release early in training camp in part because he would be pulled from the Broncos’ defensive pass packages. Lynch said Monday at a benefit for the Darrent Williams Memorial Teen Center and Boys and Girls Club of Metro Denver he had no regrets about leaving the Broncos, adding it wasn’t all about reduced playing time.
“I said that day it didn’t feel right,” Lynch said. “What does that mean? It means a lot of things. I think the team had moved on. And when the team had moved on, it was time for you to move on. That’s where I felt it was.”
He signed with New England and could have made its 53-man roster but was told by coach Bill Belichick he would initially start the season on the game-day inactive list. Again, Lynch moved on with hopes of a better opportunity. Does he think he would have been starting against Oakland and San Diego had he never left? “I don’t deal with hypotheticals. . . . I’m proud of the guys with the way they’re playing right now and wish them all the best,” he said.
Lynch co-chaired the Darrent Williams benefit with Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey.
“One thing we talked about when this happened is we can’t let (Williams’ memory) die out,” Lynch said. “The best way people have done that is through the Teen Center. That’s going to live on forever. The Boys and Girls Club said they have 360 teens that come through every day. So there’s something tangible that’s come from his memory.”
Mike Klis: 303-954-1055 or mklis@denverpost.com
