Solid backup likely is more valuable than a high draft pick
Indianapolis If coach Mike McCarthy has his way, quarterback Matt Flynn isn't going anywhere in the foreseeable future.
The Green Bay Packers have won one National Football League championship, will be gunning for others in the next few years and appear to want a player rated as possibly the National Football League's finest backup more than the high draft choice they could obtain in a trade.
"That's exactly right," McCarthy said at the NFL scouting combine over the weekend. "I'm not letting him go. I think the value of that No. 2 quarterback position went way up."
Let's say the off-season program is lost league-wide because of the labor dispute. Let's say training camp is shortened as well.
In that scenario, a player such as Flynn, who has three seasons in the same offensive system, would be extremely valuable because he wouldn't suffer from lack of preparation.
At the same time, McCarthy is well aware that Aaron Rodgers suffered two concussions last season.
"Man, they're talking about new procedures for concussions and things like that," McCarthy said. "You better have two quarterbacks if you want to win a championship."
Flynn, 25, has a year remaining on his original four-year contract.
Under the old collective bargaining agreement, Flynn would become a restricted free agent in March because he has three accrued seasons. Players with four or more accrued seasons would become unrestricted free agents.
Last season, after the owners opted out of the CBA, the requirement for unrestricted free agency increased to six seasons, and players with three to five years were lumped together as restricted.
Clearly, Flynn would like to become a starter, and unless Rodgers suffered a debilitating injury he wouldn't have that chance in Green Bay. It remains to be seen what a new agreement would mean for free agency, but McCarthy was adamant about his plans to keep Flynn as long as possible.
The Packers could trade Flynn, of course, and with up to 10 teams needing a quarterback he has to be a most attractive commodity.
When Rodgers went down in Detroit, Flynn made a respectable, though losing, debut. The next week, he posted a 100.2 passer rating against the unpredictable defensive scheme of New England coach Bill Belichick in a 31-27 defeat.
In all, Flynn played 146 snaps and had a passer rating of 82.4.
It remains to be seen how general manager Ted Thompson and McCarthy would respond if a team offered a first-round draft choice. Compensation short of a first-round pick probably wouldn't dissuade them from retaining Flynn.
The third quarterback on the roster is Graham Harrell, a Canadian Football League refugee from Texas Tech. After being released on the final cut in early September, Harrell was promoted from the practice squad before the Patriots game.
"I think he has a chance. Absolutely," McCarthy said. "When's the last time we carried three quarterbacks? Not since my first or second year here. There's a reason why we kept that kid around here."
The so-called "quarterback school" conducted by position coach Tom Clements and McCarthy each year from March to June, an ideal opportunity for an undeveloped player such as Harrell to grow, will be a casualty during the expected lockout.