The weird career trajectory of Matt Flynn took another twist as he was released by the Oakland Raiders, which means he is no longer regarded as a starter by anyone, and might generate interest with his former team, the Green Bay Packers, or with the Bills and Dolphins.
Flynn played only once for the Raiders as a starter, sacked 7 times by the Washington Redskins, throwing one touchdown and one interception, showing enough to the Raiders’ brass in order to decide Terrelle Pryor is the guy for them, and the rest is history.
Flynn got one huge boost to his career from a huge season ending game, setting some records for the Green Bay Packers, throwing for 480 yards and six touchdowns in a garbage time game. That got him the big deal from the Seattle Seahawks, but he lost his starting job in training camp to Russell Wilson. The same happened after being traded to the Oakland Raiders, who preferred Pryor and his potential to Flynn.
The Packers do want a better backup then what they currently have for Aaron Rodgers, but after Flynn left there to become a starter elsewhere, it’s not a guaranteed thing that he’ll agree to once again sit behind Rodgers, and pretty much put himself in a position to be a career backup.
The Buffalo Bills might be the most reasonable option. They have Thad Lewis lined up to start next game for them, which means they have some serious backup issues, and also a serious case of bad luck when it comes to keeping their QBs healthy. Flynn is more experienced, at least as someone who has been around NFL teams, than anyone the Bills have to backup Manuel, which might give him a shot to immediately start for Buffalo.
The Miami Dolphins also enter the picture, with Joe Philbin being Flynn’s offensive coordinator in Green Bay. The Dolphins didn’t sign him last season because he was asking for too much money, but now after getting cut, the demands will be a lot more reasonable, with Flynn not getting anything like Josh Freeman’s $3 million for one season the Minnesota Vikings gave him. As a backup to Ryan Tannehill, Flynn will have to compete for the number 2 job with Matt Moore.