...Flynn has an even smaller sample size than Kolb. One regular season game. But it was a big one, a Sunday night matchup on the road against the Patriots with Rodgers out with a concussion. Flynn suffered from some clock-management issues, as any novice would, but more than held his own. Packers coach Mike McCarthy is very much in that Andy Reid QB guru mold, which helps Flynn's stock as well. Yes, he was just a seventh-round pick in 2008, but he has showed well in the preseason and just look at Rodgers and Hasselbeck for evidence of how Green Bay understudies can fare. One GM, when seeing what San Diego got for Charlie Whitehurst, and New England got for Cassel, estimated that a second-round pick for Flynn might not be out of the question.
"The problem is he's only played one game, but you know Green Bay values him," the GM said. "It would probably take someone that really knows the kid to go out and trade for him. It's like with Cassel, where (Scott) Pioli knew him (Pioli was with New England with Cassel). So where could Flynn go?
"Seattle, with John Schneider (the Seahawks GM was a former executive with the Packers) would be a logical choice. He's not afraid to trade for a quarterback (acquired Whitehurst a year ago). I know he likes Flynn. It's going to take somebody who really knows him inside and out."
Furthermore, with San Francisco and Seattle potentially both in the market for some of the same quarterbacks, the demand to land one or the other could rise.
Whitehurst, as one scout put it, "looks like a dear in the headlights," and as well as Hasselbeck played against the Saints, his body is clearly breaking down and his status seems perpetually week-to-week. Some execs believe the Whitehurst deal could make Seattle hesitant to strike again, and one NFC West executive wondered if Hasselbeck's playoff performance might pressure the Seahawks into keeping him (a scenario the division rival seemed to be rooting for, quite honestly).
The Seahawks are trying to build a championship-level squad and with Sam Bradford and the Rams taking major steps, they're going to need stability at the QB position for years to come. No one wheels and deals like the Seahawks. I don't rule this kind of move out at all.
Orton could end up linked with his old coach, Josh McDaniels (more on that later), depending on where he lands as an offensive coordinator. I also can't help but wonder whether Minnesota coach Leslie Frazier gleaned anything from McDaniels about Orton when he interviewed him for their OC job last week. We don't know exactly what offense the Vikings will run, as they rework the staff. But Orton has played in their division, and the execs I spoke to don't believe the Broncos will get more than a third-round pick for him.
"Of Kolb, Flynn and Orton, the guy I'd target is Orton," one NFC executive said. "He's been productive and he's more polished and you can get him cheaper."