While the trade that brought Matt Flynn from the Seattle Seahawks to the Oakland Raiders is one designated to make him, finally, a starter, Colt McCoy leaving the Cleveland Browns and joining the San Francisco 49ers is a trade that was made to make him a backup, sitting behind Colin Kaepernick.

In other moves around the league, the New Orleans Saint had a busy day by signing both defensive end Kenyon Coleman and quarterback Josh McCown. The Indianapolis Colts, looking for a receiver for quite some time, went with Darrius Hayward-Bey eventually.

Matt Flynn

Before the transfer season began, Matt Flynn was one of the most mentioned names out there. Still, the Seahawks were quite patient and didn’t try to sell him around too much, waiting for the quarterback scene to develop into something they can take advantage of. Once the whole Carson Plamer thing became an issue for the Raiders, wheels began setting in motion, and eventually the Seahawks got rid of a very expensive backup, while the Raiders, hopefully, have a starter they’re happy with.

A fifth-round pick in the 2014 draft and a conditional pick in 2015 is what they get for Flynn, but getting rid of his $6.5 million salary for 2013 was the bigger issue for the Seahawks apparently.  Interestingly enough, Flynn was the backup to JaMarcus Russell at LSU until Russell became one of the most expensive flops in NFL history, being a number one pick by the Oakland Raiders in 2007.

Colt McCoy Becomes a Backup Elsewhere

It’s not that Colt McCoy never got a shot at being a starter for the Cleveland Browns. He has a 6-15 record when starting at the quarterback position for them, but both the team didn’t feel he has a shot at doing anything better than Brandon Weeden or the guy they pick in the draft. He’s not going to be closer to starting while playing for the 49ers, his new team, but he offers a little something different than Colin Kapernick, if he’s ever called upon.

The trade involved the Browns sending their sixth round pick along with McCoy, while receiving the 49ers’ picks in the fifth and seventh round in the upcoming draft. Jason Campbell was signed by the Browns last week, being regarded as someone with more of a chance to compete for the starting job.

Saints Getting Busy

Luke McCown has been around the NFL as a backup quarterback for quite some time. His next stop? The New Orleans Saints, who were also the team he spent training camp with last season. The more interesting addition the Saints made was Kenyon Coleman, joining his former DC with the Dallas Cowboys, Rob Ryan, hoping to bring his skills as a defensive end in the 3-4 defense to good use for a team that needs a lot of help defensively.

And finally, the Indianapolis Colts became the team that gave Darrius Hayward-Bey a contract for 2013. It’s a one-year deal worth $1.5 million, hoping the big 6’6 wide receiver, who spent the first four season of his career with the Raiders, does better than 41 catches on 80 targeted passes for 606 yards and 5 touchdowns.

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