But while Manning's media frenzy has soaked up all the attention, there are plenty of quality quarterbacks still getting scooped up off the open market.
Matt Flynn was the most recent example of such a player.The 26-year-old quarterback has finally locked in with a new team, signing a three-year, $26 million contract, including $10 million guaranteed, with the Seattle Seahawks.
After spending four seasons as a backup in Green Bay, Flynn finally emerged as a viable NFL starter during the past two years and found himself being pursued by a number of needy teams this offseason.
In 2010, Flynn started just one game for the eventual Super Bowl champions Packers but he was sensational in his performance. While Aaron Rodgers sat out with concussion symptoms, Flynn started the Packs' Week 15 game in a 31-27 loss to the New England Patriots and lit up the stat sheet, completing 24-of-37 for 251 yards and three touchdowns.
Flynn started another game in Week 17 this season, while Green Bay rested Rodgers and the rest of the team's starters. The former seventh-round pick, Flynn, was dominant yet again hitting on 31-of-44 passes and posting career-highs with 480 yards and six touchdowns in the Packers 45-41 win.
The Miami Dolphins were originally rumored as the heavy favorite to land the LSU graduate, as former Packers' offensive coordinator Joe Philbin recently took the Dolphins head coaching job. But Miami's pursuit of Flynn may have been undermined when Manning's name continued to surface down in South Beach.
The dramatic search for Manning's next team — with the helicopters, secret workouts and all — has clearly distracted from any of the attention other free-agent quarterbacks were expected to receive this offseason. That is likely why Flynn's pursuit, which at one point was expected to be a major storyline of this offeason, was seemingly swept under the figurative free-agency rug.
Flynn is certainly a risk for the Seahawks, as he's not a proven starting quarterback in the league, but with just $10 million guaranteed and Tarvaris Jackson as the incumbent starter this appears to be a risk worth taking.
