It's hard to imagine anyone as excited over the start of free agency on March 13 as Matt Flynn, the Packers backup quarterback who's about to become somebody's starter.
"I'm a confident person, but the element of the unknown makes you wish March 13 was tomorrow," Flynn told Sports Illustrated this week. "I've loved being a Packer, and it's not 100 percent sure I'm leaving Green Bay, but as a competitor and football player, that's what you play the game for -- to be a starter in the league. Hopefully some teams will be interested in me and I can find a good opportunity. I want to lead a team and I'm excited about it. But I can't talk to teams now. I don't know if I'm on their radar. It's going to be a long month leading up to that time -- waiting and wondering."
2012's notable free agents
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Arizona, of course, took the bait on last year's big free-agent arm, Kevin Kolb, paying him $63 million over five years, only to watch him go 2-6 as a starter.
This time last year, the buzz on Kolb was heavy, despite only seven NFL starts under his belt. Now it's Flynn, with two. Granted, they were a pair of stunning performances -- combining for 731 yards, nine touchdowns and two picks -- but have NFL teams seen enough?
Doesn't matter. Someone's pulling the trigger on Flynn. Three-quarters of the league continues to search for a franchise quarterback. You're going nowhere without one, meaning Flynn -- despite a tiny sample size of work -- is about to have the best March of his young life.
It amounts to a golden opportunity for the career backup. As for his open-market competition (read: Peyton Manning, should he become available), Flynn isn't sweating it.
"I try not to worry about things I can't control so there's no reason to have negative thoughts about that," he said. "My goal is to be one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL and all I can ask for is an opportunity to find a good situation with a team that wants me. And then go there and have success."
