The great John Wooden once said, "Be quick, but don't hurry," to a group of his followers. The Seattle Seahawks should probably follow this as the free agency frenzy arrives this week. The search for a quarterback in the NFL can become a hectic experience and Seattle could certainly use an upgrade under center.
While a few are holding out hope for Peyton Manning, it is looking more and more likely that he will not be choosing the Seahawks. The impact of not landing the future Hall of Famer may be felt for a bit, but there are other capable quarterbacks on the free agent and/or trade markets, most notably Matt Flynn.
The Dolphins were eliminated from the Manning sweepstakes earlier in the week and the team wasted no time contacting Flynn, just as the Seahawks did. Here is the latest update from The Palm Beach Post.
Flynn, the Dolphins' top free agent priority now that Peyton Manning has eliminated them from contention, is in South Florida this morning to meet with Dolphins officials and get checked out by the team's medical staff, his father, Alvin Flynn, said by phone Saturday morning from Texas.
Flynn was in Seattle yesterday visiting with the Seahawks, the Dolphins' top competition for his services, and flew to South Florida after it finished, landing here around 5 or 6 this morning after some delays, his father said.
The Dolphins had planned to let Flynn rest this morning after the long flight and three-hour time change, but instead had to get going with the tests because of a small window to work with the medical staff. Flynn's meetings with the football staff will then proceed after the medical tests.
And as for which team may have emerged as the favorites for the former Green Bay Packer?
"He said it was a really nice place, and he enjoyed it, but he wanted to look at both of them. That was the way he felt going in," Alvin Flynn said.
But now that he's in South Florida, he may not leave. The Dolphins are considered by many experts as the logical landing spot for Flynn, given his connections with Philbin and the team's desire to find a franchise quarterback.
"Logic would tell me he would do something this weekend or thereabouts," Alvin Flynn said. "He doesn't want to drag this out."
The Seahawks should be doing everything in their power to lure a quarterback to Seattle and Flynn seems to be down to two finalists. Should they miss out on him, their next-best options would be via a trade (Alex Smith, Matt Hasselbeck and Tim Tebow could become available depending where Manning goes) or through the draft, with Ryan Tannehill being the odds-on favorite.
For more on the Seahawks and their pursuit of a quarterback, check out Field Gulls.