Matt Flynn joins Patriots’ potential quarterback roulette

(AP Photo/Stephan Savoia)

By Eric Wilbur

June 16, 2015

5 minutes to read

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COMMENTARY

FOXBOROUGH — They’re building a new office structure adjacent to the practice fields at Gillette Stadium, where the New England Patriots opened their mandatory mini-camp on Tuesday. Actually, they’re building a lot of everything here these days.

But as head coach Bill Belichick led the team through drills, construction continued. At one point, an enormous crane lifted a trio of steel beams — each about 50 feet in length — over the heads of a handful of players below. The beams were delivered safely to their intended destination without incident or any sign of apprehension from those below.

After all, the Patriots are used to having things hang over their head during this offseason.

This much we know; the Patriots’ starting quarterback for Week One against the Pittsburgh Steelers was on the field on Tuesday, but predicting which one will get the nod is still up the air, at the very least until Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady has his suspension appeal heard by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell next week.

As of now, Brady is scheduled to miss the first four games of the 2015 season for his role in Deflategate — as determined by the bloated, much-debated Wells Report. A new report from ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio suggests that Brady intends to fight his suspension all the way, feeling that he did nothing wrong and deserves to be reinstated for the season-opening, banner-raising game against the Steelers.

But the iron-fisted Goodell is hearing Brady’s appeal, so the Patriots are still in flux as far as prep work is concerned for a game now 2 1/2 months down the road. They could end up handing the keys to second-year quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.

They also may feel more comfortable giving them to seven-year veteran Matt Flynn, who New England signed last week as another backup plan should Garoppolo (himself the backup plan to a reinstated Brady) prove to be either too inexperienced, or if Belichick and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels simply don’t want to put the kid in a situation that will have him under the microscope of the entire NFL landscape.

Flynn isn’t looking that far ahead though. He still has some summer reading to get to.

“I don’t look at it as anything,’’ he said. “I look at it as right now I’ve got a big task ahead of me, and that’s learning the playbook. That’s the only thing that I’m thinking about right now, and that’s the only thing that they’re telling me to do right now is learn, learn, learn.

“It’s always tough going to a different team. You have this huge task of learning a new offense, and that’s what I’m in the middle of now, just trying to cram as much information as I can right now and forget about the old offense. That’s probably the hardest part about learning something new is forgetting the old one.’’

Flynn is 3-4 in his career as a starter, with stops in Green Bay (where he backed up Aaron Rodgers for five seasons), Buffalo, and Oakland. He attempted only 16 passes last season after returning to the Packers, completing eight with one interception. Garoppolo was 19-for-27 over the six games he played in relief of Brady during his rookie season, tossing one touchdown and no picks.

Though he had never even met Brady prior to a few days ago, Flynn may just face the unenviable task of stepping in for the future Hall of Famer should Brady be forced to the sidelines. It’s a role Flynn, with 46 career relief appearances under his belt, is accustomed to.

“I know that role well. I’ve been around the league, I’ve seen a bunch of different offenses, I’ve seen a lot of defenses, so there’s nothing that you can really teach a guy like Tom,’’ Flynn said. “He’s a professional in every single way. He comes in and you can tell that he’s the leader of this team.’’

Flynn already has a fondness for Gillette Stadium. He started his first NFL game in Foxborough in 2010 with the Packers, a 31-27 loss to New England in which he threw three touchdowns and one interception. The fact that it happened on the birthday of both his then-girlfriend (now-wife) and his father made it icing for Flynn, despite the loss.

“That was a great night for me,’’ he said. “I’ve always been a confident guy, but you go out there and show it on a big stage, it was fun. I just remember having a blast.’’

He very well may have another shot to perform on an even bigger stage as the starting quarterback of the defending Super Bowl champs. But before Flynn can even think about being the focus on the night the team is scheduled to raise its championship banner, he understands there’s work to be done, particularly after watching the offense practice last week and admitting, “I didn’t know what anyone was saying.’’

“I’ve got a lot of catching up to do, playbook-wise,’’ said Flynn, who added that he’s felt more comfortable the last few days already. “I’ve got to immerse myself in it in the month that we have off, and try to not only memorize plays and formations, but learn them. There’s a big difference between those two.

“The worst thing I can do coming back to training camp is get to the line of scrimmage and I’m worried about where the offensive guys are instead of where the defensive guys are.’’

As for Belichick’s take on the 29-year-old’s presence at mini-camp?

“We’ll see,’’ he said. “He’s had some playing experience. We’ll see how it goes.’’

For now, the June 23 showdown between Brady and Goodell looms large as far as Flynn’s role and place on this team goes. The appeal isn’t only hanging over the head of Brady. As it turns out, its outcome will be pivotal in determining whether Matt Flynn belongs in New England, and just what level of importance he brings.