As the fifth week of the NFL season concluded, two quarterbacks seasons have changed dramatically. One quarterback is Matt Flynn, and the other is Josh Freeman. Freeman was released from the Buccaneers a few days ago, after struggling to lead his Buccaneers to victory. The Minnesota Vikings picked him up, and put him in a very interesting situation. The Vikings have three potential starting quarterbacks, two of which have led their former teams to the playoffs, and Freeman is the one who has not. Matt Cassel, a veteran quarterback, started his career behind Hall of Famer Tom Brady for the Patriots. Following the undefeated 2007 regular season, Brady got hurt on opening day, ending his season, and starting Cassels career. Cassel led the Pats to an 11-5 record, before moving on to the chiefs, where he became a starter. Soon Cassel led a struggling team to the playoffs, only to lose to a powerhouse Ravens team. Cassel became quite injury prone, and the Chiefs gave up on him, leaving him for the Vikings. He is now looking to compete for a starting job. Christian Ponder, the youngest of the three, was expected to start this season, but hurt his ribs. Cassel came in and played great, giving Ponder some competition for when he comes back, which should be this upcoming week. Ponder did not play much his rookie season, but as a second year quarterback turned the struggling franchise into a playoff team. Ponder showed lots of promise last year, so it is his job to lose. Josh Freeman is coming in from the Buccaneers, and is guaranteed not to start in week 6, so he has a chance to learn the offense. It will be a three way battle for the starting job when week 7 comes around. I think that Ponder will start, but if he struggles at all, Freeman or Cassel will come in, depending on who wins the battle for the backup quarterback spot.
Another major story regarding quarterbacks is that the raiders dropped quarterback Matt Flynn. Flynn was Aaron Rodgers back up for many years, showing off amazing skills when he occasionally started for Rodgers. Flynn was signed by the Seahawks last year, and lost the job to rookie at the time Russel Wilson. Flynn then signed with the Raiders at the start of this year, only to lose the job again to Terrelle Pryor. Flynn was dropped this past week and is looking for a job, and I think there are three potential homes for him. The first is Jacksonville, no surprise there. They have struggled to find a solid quarterback since David Gerrard, and they might as well give up on Blaine Gabbert. Gabbert has not shown much if any potential at all, and with such a talent loaded draft of quarterbacks coming up, Flynn would be a nice temporary addition to finish the year. Another team would be the Bills, even though they have quarterback E.J. Manuel. Manuel and Kolb are both hurt, and I think Matt Flynn would be a better temporary option than Jeff Toole. Flynn would also be a good backup and mentor when E.J. Manuel returns. The third team Flynn could sign with is the Browns. The Browns have Brian Hoyer, who like Cassel, is a former apprentice of Tom Brady. He put on two tremendous shows before getting hurt in last weeks game, bringing the Browns two and a quarter straight wins, while Brandon Weeden completed the third. Weeden is inexperienced and getting old for a second year quarterback. The better option would be to sign Flynn until Hoyer gets back. Then take one of the many talented quarterbacks in the upcoming draft to battle Hoyer for the starter positon. Flynn will not get a long term deal anywhere, because of his age and the situations around the league. The only potential spot is Jacksonville, but in April a young star is most likely going to play their, and I think they will be favored to start over any veteran quarterback.
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