If Pete Carroll wants to do right by Matt Flynn, trade him to a team that actually wants him

As some people may or may not have noticed, since the fall of 2011 I have been a strong backer of the Seahawks acquiring Green Bay back-up quarterback Matt Flynn when he became a free agent in 2012. His name had surfaced in the local media as a possible option, but much of the sentiment was lukewarm at best. Even when Flynn had that spectacular game against Detroit, there were those (like the ESPN affiliate’s Mike Salk) who were unimpressed and wanted to sell the farm for Robert Griffin III—which in view of RGIII’s injury issues was an option perhaps best not explored. Interest in Flynn—which immediately after the Detroit game seemed high—devolved into something that was admittedly tepid at best, with only two teams which had ties to Green Bay (Seattle via General Manager John Schneider and Miami through new coach Joe Philbin) offering Flynn a contract. It was clear that Seahawk’s coach Pete Carroll’s support of signing Flynn was muted, as was his praise of Flynn’s abilities—in contrast to that of Schneider, who was relatively effusive in his expectations of Flynn.

But as we have seen, Flynn’s career trajectory suffered a hit, mainly because he wasn’t Carroll’s “guy.” That “guy” turned out to be Russell Wilson, whose style of play suited Carroll’s animated approach to the game, admixed with a bit of politics. Outside commentators also pointed out that Flynn functioned best in a pass-heavy offense, and that wasn’t the style that Carroll intended.  Despite having two outstanding games with Green Bay (in which he threw for 750 yards and 9 touchdowns),  there were those who preferred to believe that Flynn was still an “unknown”—especially Wilson partisans.

The reality is that Wilson is not a “better” quarterback than Flynn; they are two entirely different quarterbacks: Flynn is the “boring” traditional pocket passer, and Wilson the “flashy” running quarterback—the kind of quarterback ESPN’s Steven A. Smith would call “box office”—as well as satisfy superficial political sentiment. But Flynn paid his dues to get his opportunity, and Wilson didn’t. Wilson has been fortunate throughout his career; after leaving behind a not particularly impressive stat line at North Carolina State--and destined to be a low draft pick, if drafted at all--he had a mediocre career as a minor league baseball player. His old coach “persuaded” him to find another team when he tried to return to NC State, and he landed a walk-on position at Wisconsin, and the rest is “history.” 

I bring all this up again because of Carroll’s comments in regard to Flynn during the season-ending press conference. Carroll admitted that Flynn has never accepted his position as back-up, that Flynn thought he should be the starting quarterback, and was occasionally “grumpy.” But it didn’t matter; Wilson never gave him a “chance.” The reality, of course, is that it is was Carroll who never intended on giving Flynn a chance; he only went through the preseason charade for appearance's sake. Allowed into the game late in the blowout win against Arizona, Flynn showed that he could come into a game cold and still perform; this is probably the reason why Wilson played the entire game the next week against Buffalo, despite another lopsided score. Carroll was only able to force himself to give Flynn tepid “praise” even as a good teammate or providing useful insights during games. When asked what Flynn’s future was with the team, Carroll could only say that the team would do what was best for him.

What is best for Flynn is being traded to a team that will accept his contract with the view of giving him a legitimate shot as a starter. Here in Seattle, his position is much like that of Kirk Cousins in Washington—a quarterback with starter potential, yet stuck behind the “box office” star. It is interesting to note that RGIII revealed his belief in his “entitlement” when following the loss to Seattle, he was asked why if he was unable to perform he didn’t voluntarily take himself out of the game; he responded by saying he still gave the team its “best” chance to win. This was either typical player competitiveness—or selfish interest above team. If he was going to go down, RGIII was going to take the team with him just to keep the "other" guy off the field.

I still believe Matt Flynn has a future as a starting quarterback, if given an opportunity. If Carroll wants to do right by him, the Seahawks should trade him—particularly if Flynn requests it—to a team that will use him.