ALAMEDA, Calif. -- The Oakland Raiders parting ways with quarterback Matt Flynn says more about the team acknowledging a mistake than the cost-conscious franchise trying to save a buck.
Because really, the only way the Raiders save any money is if another team signs Flynn, who has a $1.25 million base salary this year and a $5.25 million bonus. That makes $6.5 million for all of one start for Oakland in 2013.
The Raiders will take a salary cap hit of $2.625 million for 2014.
And while Oakland did give up a fifth-round pick in the 2014 draft to Seattle as well as a 2015 conditional pick, the conditional pick reportedly is now void since Flynn will not meet certain playing incentives in being cut. A day after the Raiders acquired Flynn, they traded Carson Palmer to Arizona for draft picks that eventually became tight end Mychal Rivera and defensive end David Bass, who was cut in camp.
So where do the Raiders go from here at quarterback?
Terrelle Pryor is the unquestioned starter as coach Dennis Allen said he is “leaps and bounds ahead of where we thought he'd be at this time” as an NFL quarterback. His passer rating of 135.7 in the Raiders' 27-17 win over the San Diego Chargers on Sunday night was the highest by a Raiders quarterback since Rich Gannon’s 138.9 against Tennessee on Sept. 29, 2002.
The Raiders also like undrafted rookie Matt McGloin, who surpassed Flynn on the depth chart last week, and Allen said fourth-round draft pick Tyler Wilson “has improved” since getting cut and being signed to the practice squad after 31 teams took a pass on him.
But they are not completely sold on so much inexperience under center.
“We’ll look,” Allen said. “We’ll always be looking in terms of what’s out there … and see if there's any options out there that can make us a better football team.”
Which is why the Raiders are bringing in David Carr, the top pick of the 2002 draft out of Fresno State by the Houston Texans, and, reportedly, Pat White, a second-round pick of the Miami Dolphins in 2009, for workouts on Tuesday.
The Raiders had been linked to Josh Freeman, before reports of his signing with Minnesota surfaced Sunday night.
“If he could come in and help, come in and help,” Pryor said.
He was referring to Freeman, but he very well could have been talking about any other free agent quarterback currently on the market who catches Oakland's fancy.