The New York Jets were planning on starting Geno Smith at quarterback in 2015. Then his jaw got in the way of a punch, and now Smith is out 6-10 weeks following a surgery to fix his broken jaw. With that news, Ryan Fitzpatrick has been elevated to the starter while rookie Bryce Petty is in the lead to be the backup.
With that in mind, general manager Mike Maccagnan is on the hunt for a quarterback and may have found his man in Matt Flynn, according to Albert Breer of NFL Network. Flynn was recently released by the New England Patriots, who cut the veteran to make room for the highly underwhelming Ryan Lindley.
New York fans should be hoping that Flynn never sees a second of meaningful football if he is signed. Flynn had his day in the sun with the Green Bay Packers when in a 2011 Week 17 game, he substituted for Aaron Rodgers and threw six touchdowns in his first NFL start. Flynn was immediately signed by the Seattle Seahawks to be their starter in 2012, but was supplanted in the preseason by rookie Russell Wilson.
Flynn then bounced around, going to the Oakland Raiders before losing his starting job and subsequently moving onto the Buffalo Bills. Flynn then had a reunion that lasted a pair of seasons with the Packers as Rodgers’ backup before joining the Patriots this offseason.
Flynn would be competing for the backup job with Petty, who the team would likely rather have watching the action with a clipboard for a few years while he learns Chan Gailey’s offense.