Former Green Bay Packers backup quarterback Matt Flynn will finally have a chance to become a full-time starter.
The Seattle Seahawks officially announced a trade sending Flynn to the Oakland Raiders for a 2014 fifth-round pick and a conditional pick in 2015.
News of the trade first surfaced Friday when Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin wished Flynn “the best on his endeavors in Oakland." But the deal was not finalized until Monday morning. Multiple reports Friday afternoon suggested that the Raiders were making one last effort to persuade their 2012 starting quarterback, Carson Palmer, to take a pay cut.
With Flynn in Oakland, the Raiders will now attempt to finalize a trade sending Palmer to the Arizona Cardinals. Last offseason, Flynn signed a three-year, $26 million deal ($10 million guaranteed) with the Seahawks. However, after rookie quarterback Russell Wilson shone in preseason, he beat out Flynn for the starting job and went on to stake his claim as the team's long-term answer. The last regular-season game Flynn started in was a record-breaking performance. In Week 17 of the 2011 season, Flynn started for the Packers in place of a resting Aaron Rodgers. In that game, Flynn set two franchise records with 480 passing yards and six touchdown passes. Flynn, 27, has started only two games in his five-year NFL career since Green Bay made him a 2008 seventh-round pick. Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie is very familiar with Flynn. McKenzie was the Packers' director of football operations prior to accepting his job with Oakland in January 2012.
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