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Backup quarterback Matt Flynn isn't exactly injured, but he isn't going to be playing anytime soon either, Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said on Tuesday.
During the preseason, Flynn was locked in a quarterback battle with eventual starter and rookie Russell Wilson. Wilson has put up serviceable numbers as he has guided the Seahawks to a 2-2 record. Russell has thrown for 594 yards and a matched set of four touchdowns and four interceptions.
Flynn hasn't seen a single snap during the regular season. He suffered from a sore elbow that prevented him from playing in the third preseason game, an impressive 44-14 win that would eventually help land Wilson the starting role. Carroll and crew have been careful monitoring Flynn's progress and insist he is healthy, but also haven't put him in a game. The most action he has seen was as the scout team quarterback when the team prepped for the Green Bay Packers on Sept. 24.
However, if Wilson were unable to play in a game for whatever reason, Carroll was bizarrely non-committal on what role Flynn would play in that scenario, via Danny O' Neill of the Seattle Times.
We just don't know what's going to happen when he gets a lot of work. He might be all right, we don't know that, but we have not taken him there yet. But no, he's ready to play in every game and he's ready to go in the very next play if we need him.
Carroll says that the reason Flynn hasn't been seen is because the Seahawks want to give their young quarterback all the experience he can handle. But it also seems that Flynn's arm is not quite up to par, or at least according to Carroll the Seahawks have him on a "pitch count" or sorts.
He has never thrown a lot in any of the practices. He's just, he's done the things we've asked him to do. We've counted on him to play in every game. We haven't had a third quarterback on the roster because Matt can play, but we have had a pitch count for him in a sense and made sure that we didn't work him past where we thought it was the right way to do it.
The Seahawks travel to Carolina to face the Panthers in Week 5.