Flynn, who set Green Bay passing records with his only start in the last regular season game of 2011, was riding a soaring stock into last year's free agency and landed himself a solid 3 year, $19.5 million contract with the Seattle Seahawks to be their starting QB. A month later, the Seahawks drafted Russell Wilson out of NC State in the 3rd round to bring in competition for Flynn. No one told Wilson that it was Flynn's job to win and Wilson set his sights on being a starting QB himself. Wilson ended up beating Flynn, securing his spot as the starting QB and franchise player and led the Seahawks to a fantastic season, ending with a loss in the divisional round to the Atlanta Falcons. The Seahawks haven't regretted their decision to start Wilson over Flynn as Wilson put up 3118 passing yards, 26 passing TDs versus only 10 interceptions, 64% completion percentage and a QB rating of 100 for the season and QBR rating of 69.6 (average QBR is 50). Thrown in that Wilson is one of the most poised, mobile QBs (489 rushing yards, 4 tds on just 94 attempts) in the league and the Seahawks clearly made the right choice.
This leaves Matt Flynn a complete afterthought in Seattle fan's minds. What to do with the most buzzed about FA of last years group? The Seahawks could keep him as one of the higher upside backup QBs in the league and use him as insurance. They could go the trade route and try and push him to a QB-needy team like the Jets, Cardinals or Eagles. However, the success of Wilson and other rookie QBs (Luck, RG3, Tannehill, Weeden and decent showings from Foles and Cousins) has scouts and GMs buzzing about whether first year QBs can be productive from the get-go. In certainly worked for the Colts, Redskins and Seahawks as all 3 teams made the playoffs with rookie QBs at the helm. I don't think it's the norm but the landscape of the NFL is changing yet again. It is an UPDATE LEAGUE! The current feeling is that the right guy in the right system can lead to success despite being inexperienced.
With guys like Geno Smith (WVU), Matt Barkeley (USC), Mike Glennon (NC State), Landry Jones (Oklahoma) and Ryan Nassib (Syracuse) waiting to lead their own team to the playoffs, there could be less and less interest from teams who need QBs because they can get a cost effective player in the draft that can fit their respective scheme better than Flynn can. It will certainly be an interesting scenario to watch develop. I believe the Seahawks will eventually look to deal him and try and land a draft pick that can help the Seahawks build around their already solid roster. A player for player trade is unlikely, doubt anyone deals a known commodity for a QB that we really haven't seen a ton of work from. Draft pick compensation seems like the more likely road. Seattle had a huge draft last year, so if they could get a 4th round selection, 5th at worst, it would be a nice return on their investment and save themselves some money while also giving Flynn a chance to finally be a full-time starting NFL quarterback.
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