Schneider: Seahawks will listen to offers for Flynn
Jan 16, 2013, 5:09 PM | Updated: 5:15 pm
By Brady Henderson
There is still a question at quarterback for the Seahawks even though Russell Wilson has cemented his status as the starter.
Namely: what will they do – if anything – with high-priced backup Matt Flynn?
General manager John Schneider and coach Pete Carroll have some options.
Seattle’s Matt Flynn should draw plenty of interest from quarterback-needy teams this offseason. (AP) |
There’s obvious appeal in maintaining depth at the position with what the team views as a starting-caliber quarterback. At the same time, several teams will be looking for quarterbacks this offseason. And with a draft class that isn’t considered to be rich with quarterback talent, those teams could instead set their sights on a veteran like Flynn.
“I’d be lying to you if I told you that we wouldn’t be listening to people,” Schneider told “Brock and Salk” Wednesday. “I think we all believe that he’s a starter in this league.”
That doesn’t mean the Seahawks will jump at the first offer.
Flynn is scheduled to make $7.25 million in 2013, the second year of a three-year deal he signed last offseason. But it’s not as though Seattle has an untenable amount of money tied up at the position. Russell Wilson is scheduled to make $480,000 in base salary in 2013, and his rookie contract cannot be renegotiated before the end of his third season.
Flynn’s salary is high for a backup, but it’s not unaffordable – especially considering Seattle has $18.6 million of cap space, according to John Clayton’s projections.
“We’ve structured ourselves in a salary-cap manner where we’re in a very good position with him,” Schneider said.
Flynn, 27, had made two career starts before signing with Seattle. He appeared in three games last season, all of his playing time coming in mop-up duty. Even though jury is still out on whether he can be a franchise quarterback, the Seahawks have to feel good about the overall strength of the position with Flynn and Wilson.
“Having two quarterbacks like that’s pretty special,” Schneider said.
The success the Seahawks had with the read option could influence their thinking. Flynn is more of a pocket passer who’s not considered a running threat. Might the Seahawks feel better about a backup with enough mobility to run that offense in case Wilson is injured?
“We’ve talked a lot about that. It would be nice to have another guy that might be able to be a factor that way,” coach Pete Carroll told reporters Monday.
In the absence of any glaring needs outside of a pass rusher, and with only two starters set to become unrestricted free agents, the Seahawks’ decision on Flynn will be a leading offseason story line.
“We’re going to do what’s best for the organization, period,” Schneider said. “This isn’t like, ‘Well, now that Russell’s done so well, what are you going to do with Matt?’ We have two guys under contract that are good.”