Now before you get too worked up yes, this story is 100% speculation, and is not likely to happen. It's just been too long since I've written one of my trademark "Kyle writes a crazy story about picking up some FA that's never going to happen *cough*JeremyShockey*cough*".

There has been some chatter amongst Vikings fans that, seeing as how we probably are going to have to look elsewhere for a QB in 2013, Matt Flynn could be a potential possibility. Maybe. Arif and I chatted briefly about this via the Twitter a few days ago, and unlike me, he thinks that's a bad idea. This made me curious overall- as much again as this really is just speculation, mind you- what the fine ladies and gentlemen (using that last term loosely, of course) think.

First, here are the pros to Matt Flynn. In his spot roles for the Packers, he played pretty darn well, including even taking team records in yards passing and touchdowns in the final game of 2011 against the Detroit Lions. (Remember, in 2011 the Lions were a good team. I know, that seems... weird.) Secondly, the trade is likely not going to be difficult or overly costly, as with Russell Wilson the undisputed starter, Flynn's contract is an absolute albatross for the Seahawks. And, of course, the Tiger in me has very fond memories of this young man. (I won't go into details because I think Ted might get mad.)

The cons? Well, first and foremost, his contract. Unless he were to renegotiate it- which I find unlikely- it is going to eat into the Vikings' cap space. If he were to be the starter here, then I say that's fine. Starting QBs (excepting those on their now cap-controlled rookie contracts) cost money. If for whatever reason the Vikings wouldn't think he would become the starter, however, then it makes no sense- backup QBs don't cost that kind of money. Secondly, we will have to trade something for him. For a team still reloading, giving up draft picks is a risky proposition, and something that should be done both sparingly and carefully.

And of course, the biggest con- and this was Arif's beef- is simply the lack of sample size. He could be the next Matt Hasselbeck or Brett Favre, a backup traded away who becomes a solid starter. Or he could be the next Kevin Kolb, a guy who benefitted from "backup QB success syndrome", where he only looks good when teams haven't adequately prepared for him. Should that be the case, the Vikings will suffer the same fate as the Cardinals- out valuable draft picks and/or players swapped in the trade, with a hefty yet useless contract eating up valuable cap space, and the same exact questions at QB as before.

The Matt Flynn scenario is definitely a high-risk, high-reward situation. The reason I personally am so high on it is simply the lack of solid QBs available in the draft. To me, taking a chance on Flynn really doesn't hurt the team horribly if it backfires, because it's not like we are going to have much better chances under center otherwise. I'm done with Christian Ponder, which sucks because as practically everyone has said, he seems like a really great guy who I'd love to see succeed. Joe Webb isn't the answer and neither is The Highlander. Even if we do take a gamble in the draft on another QB, that still costs us a draft pick- just like swinging a trade with the Seahawks. (Although I would not support trading a first rounder for Flynn.) So while no, it's not truly a "no risk gamble", I personally think the risks are lowered thanks to our situation. But that's just me. If you truly don't think that Flynn could be a starting caliber QB, then any trade is boneheaded- we might as well just roll one more year with Ponder anyways in that case, and save our draft picks to build the team otherwise.

Allow me to end on a slightly different note: I really don't think this will happen, regardless. Rick Spielman seems dead set on sticking with Ponder, come hell or high water. Unless he sees enough over the end of this season to convince him otherwise, my money is on Ponder getting one final go at it to prove him right or wrong. And again, to be fair, all things considered that may be our best only real option anyways.

But let's play what-if anyways. Would you, my fellow Norsemen/women, support a reasonable trade for Matt Flynn?