The Jets went with Matt Flynn to be their veteran backup quarterback because he had the right mix of intelligence, adaptability and talent.
Or something.
Actually, Jets coach Todd Bowles shined the light on the current state of the free agent market when asked what stood out about Flynn.
“He was the only one available, too,” Bowles said, via Kevin Armstrong of the New York Daily News.
You can read into that what you will as it pertains to the hopes of quarterbacks such as Rex Grossman or Tyler Thigpen or Michael Vick. At a time when teams can carry 90 players, most have four quarterbacks on the roster. And suffice it to say there are not 128 NFL-caliber quarterbacks out there, much less 129.
The Jets aren’t quite sure when Flynn’s even going to be able to practice for them, as he’s probably a week away from taking the field because of a hamstring injury from his stint with the Patriots.
“Like everybody else, you want to find better, but Matt’s a good quarterback,” Bowles said. “I wanted to get him in here so he can have a week, learn and pick everything up so when he got healthy he can go out and play.”
While Bowles isn’t going to challenge his predecessor for press conference flair, that’s still a frank and honest — and withering — evaluation of Flynn and the group he was among prior to the Jets throwing him a rope.