NFL Roundup: Flynn to start for Packers
In the past eight months, Matt Flynn's football odyssey took him from Seattle to Oakland to Buffalo and back to where he began his NFL career, as a backup quarterback with the Green Bay Packers.
On Wednesday, franchise passer Aaron Rodgers was ruled out and Flynn was named the starting quarterback for the Packers' Thanksgiving Day game at Detroit.
Flynn is the team's fourth starter since Nov. 4, when Rodgers started against the Bears and broke his collarbone.
Packers coach Mike McCarthy chose Flynn over Scott Tolzien, who struggled last week against the Minnesota Vikings. Flynn relieved Tolzien and rallied the Packers from a 20-7 deficit to force overtime and earn a tie.
The Packers no longer have a lead in the division to protect. Sunday's overtime tie with the Minnesota Vikings gave Green Bay a 0-3-1 record without Rodgers.
The last time Flynn started a game for the Packers was Jan. 1, 2012, the regular-season finale against the Lions. He posted 480 yards and threw six touchdown passes.
---The Cleveland Browns have no choice but to once again turn to Brandon Weeden as starting quarterback.
With Jason Campbell going through the NFL's concussion protocol, Browns coach Rob Chudzinski said Weeden, the on-again, off-again starter the past two seasons, would start Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Campbell is not ready to practice, Chudzinski said, after he was injured in the third quarter of last Sunday's 27-11 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers when he took a shot to the helmet from Steelers cornerback William Gay. Campbell is listed as doubtful.
The Browns are 4-7 and have
lost five of their past six games. They've made four quarterback changes this season, going from Weeden to Brian Hoyer to Campbell and now back to Weeden.
In seven games this season, Weeden has six touchdown passes and seven interceptions. His 66.0 quarterback rating is third lowest in the league.
If Campbell is unavailable this week, recently signed Alex Tanney would serve as Weeden's backup.
---Green Bay Packers guard Josh Sitton took aim at the Detroit Lions' defensive line, the defensive coaching staff and Lions coach Jim Schwartz during a weekly radio appearance on WSSP 1250 AM in Milwaukee.
"They go after quarterbacks, their entire defense takes cheap shots all the time," Sitton said of the Lions. "That's what they do. That's who they are. They're a bunch of dirtbags or scumbags. That's how they play, and that's how they're coached.
"It starts with their frickin' coach. It starts with the head coach, Schwartz. He's a d---, too. I wouldn't want to play for him. It starts with him, and their D-coordinator and their D-line coach. They're all just scumbags and so are the D-line."
There has been bad blood between the NFC North rivals. Two years ago, Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh was ejected from a game after he stomped on Packers offensive lineman Evan Dietrich-Smith.
Packers coach Mike McCarthy said on a radio appearance that Sitton's comments "do not reflect how we go about our business here."
---Denver Broncos defensive tackle Kevin Vickerson was placed on injured reserve with a dislocated hip.
Vickerson suffered the injury during the Broncos' 34-31 overtime loss to the New England Patriots on Monday night.
The 30-year-old Vickerson had started all 11 games for the Broncos this season. He logged 18 solo tackles, including his first sack of the year on Monday night.
Sylvester Williams, the team's 2013 first-round draft pick, is expected to take Vickerson's spot in the lineup.
To replace Vickerson on the 53-man roster, the Broncos signed former Carolina Panthers defensive tackle Sione Fua. He was waived by the Panthers earlier this month.
