News & Info/Headlines

Flynn Traded To Oakland; Is He Ready For A Starting Job?
Matt Flynn is heading to the Oakland Raiders. The Seattle Seahawks traded the backup quarterback Monday to the Raiders in exchange for two draft picks, a move first reported by FOXSports insider Jay Glazer.

The Seahawks will acquire late-round selections in the 2014 and 2015 drafts, Glazer reported.

Glazer also reports the Raiders are trying to finalize a deal to send quarterback Carson Palmer to the Arizona Cardinals.

In Flynn, the Raiders get a presumed replacement for Palmer.

The Seahawks deal Flynn one year after signing him to a three-year, $19.5 million contract. Flynn was the second-most coveted free-agent quarterback on the market last offseason after Peyton Manning, and his signing was supposed to herald the Flynn era in Seattle.

Tarvaris Jackson was the incumbent at the time, and after Seattle chose Russell Wilson in the third round, he also joined the competition. Wilson was named the starter after the third exhibition game, which Flynn had to miss because of a sore elbow. Flynn did not appear in a game until December, coming on to replace Wilson during a blowout victory over Arizona.

Meanwhile, Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie is familiar with Flynn from their days together in Green Bay. More importantly, Flynn was scheduled to make less than half of what Palmer was set to earn in 2013. The Raiders reportedly were looking to re-do Flynn's contract, which would pay out $11.5 million to Flynn over the next two years.

According to NFL.com's Gregg Rosenthal, it's unclear if the Raiders did indeed restructure the contract.

Flynn was scheduled to earn $5.25 million in salary this season, and dealing him resulted in a savings of $3.25 million against the Seahawks salary cap.

Flynn has only two career starts under his belt, both with the Green Bay Packers. Now Flynn will face more competition, this time from third-year-pro Terrelle Pryor, an athletic but unproven youngster who apparently doesn't have the full confidence of management.

One possible issue with Flynn?

According to Yahoo! Sports' Jason Cole, the scouting report among former Packers executives is that Flynn's lack of arm strength will eventually be exposed by opposing teams.

Whatever the case, the Raiders never were comfortable paying Palmer $13 million this season, even if they have to eat a lot of "dead money" on the salary cap to get it done. McKenzie has been all about erasing the errors of the previous regime. Hue Jackson traded a first- and second-round pick to the Cincinnati Bengals get Palmer in 2011.

As Rosenthal suggested, even though Palmer has been blamed for too much of the Raiders' recent woes, that trade was a huge mistake.

Rosenthal added: "Flynn should give the Raiders similar production at quarterback at a far lesser price. The Raiders should not be done shopping for their long-term quarterback, yet. ..."

The immediate question in Seattle is what the team does for a backup?

Wilson is currently the only quarterback on the roster. Josh Portis — the team’s No. 3 quarterback in 2011 — was released from the practice squad last year and is currently signed to play for Toronto in the Canadian Football League.

According to Seattle Times staffer Danny O'Neil, one player to keep an eye on: Colt McCoy. He’s currently on the Browns roster as Cleveland attempts to trade him, but is expected to be released and could be someone that fits what Seattle will be looking for in its backup.

ESPN insider Chris Mortensen is reporting former Buffalo backup Tyler Thigpen is also on the team's short list while ESPN's Adam Schefter suggests Matt Leinart will be the target. ...

Stay tuned. I'll have more on Seattle's backup situation -- and apparently more on Palmer, too -- soon.