Matt Flynn is visiting Seattle this week, but it’s not clear how serious they are about the young free agent.
Flynn has a familiar pedigree coming from Green Bay. After all, that’s the same organization that traded Matt Hasselbeck to Seattle 11 years ago. There’s a little more history, too. John Schneider — now Seattle’s general manager — was in the Packers’ front office when they drafted Flynn in the seventh round in 2008.
But no one should jump to conclusions or characterize Flynn’s addition as imminent. He’s still a largely inexperienced quarterback, and there’s a very real question of just how much the Seahawks will offer a quarterback with two career starts.
Is Seattle convinced enough of Flynn’s potential to offer a deal that is significantly more than the two-year, $8 million contract that Seattle has used as its baseline for a quarterback it sees as a potential starter down the road? That was the contract Seattle signed Charlie Whitehurst to in 2010 before he had attempted a regular-season pass, and it was largely the same deal used to acquire Jackson last year.
Maybe Seattle does see Flynn as a different caliber of prospect, a player worth a significantly higher investment. But a year ago, Seattle wasn’t willing to make the kind of financial commitment that Kevin Kolb got from Arizona or part with the draft picks it would have taken to acquire him, and Kolb had more experience than Flynn.
Pete Carroll hasn’t exactly set the world on fire with his quarterback picks so far, but the rest of the team is progressing so maybe the Seahawks will step up here. Miami is also in the mix, and despite conflicting reports, I think the Browns would be interested at the right price. Much will depend on whether Seattle lets Flynn move on after his visit without a signed contract.
I like Flynn and I’m hoping he lands in Cleveland. The kid learned the West Coast Offense under the best in Green Bay for four years, and experience is critical in that offense. This glowing profile from Peter King points out what Flynn has learned and how he made decisions in his epic game against the Lions. Here’s another very positive scouting report.
There’s no guarantee with Flynn, and may bring up that he’s had only two NFL starts, but that’s two more than Andrew Luck and RG3. I’m not saying he’s a better prospect, but the “risk” is mitigated by his apprenticeship in Green Bay under Aaron Rodgers. The key is the size of the contract, and that will be dictated by how many teams enter the bidding.
