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Shutdown Corner - NFL

Shutdown Corner

Fri Mar 09 12:03pm EST

Aaron Rodgers called Matt Flynn a ‘top-15 quarterback.’ Is that a compliment?

By Chris Chase

Aaron Rodgers called Matt Flynn a ‘top-15 quarterback.’ Is that a compliment?

Aaron Rodgers had some kind words for general managers interested in acquiring his former backup, Matt Flynn.

"The team that gets Matt is going to be very happy, I can promise you," Rodgers said of the free agent. "They'll be getting a top-15 quarterback."

The Green Bay Packers quarterback surely meant it as a compliment to his understudy of four seasons. But was it? There are 32 starting quarterbacks in the NFL. Being in the top 15 could mean you're barely better than half, right in the meaty part of the curve.

Let's assume the top-14 quarterbacks in the league are, in some order: Rodgers, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, Matthew Stafford, Michael Vick, Tony Romo, Jay Cutler, Matt Schaub, Philip Rivers, Matt Ryan and Andrew Luck. You can quibble with the bottom of the list, but that's beside the point. Essentially, Rodgers is saying that Flynn will be Joe Flacco, Mark Sanchez or Alex Smith.

[ Related: Peyton Manning puts a damper on QB Matt Flynn's big moment ]

That may impress the easily impressible (like Shanahan & Son in Washington) but isn't likely to generate enthusiasm from general managers who are going to have to pay Flynn like the marquee quarterback he has yet to prove himself to be.

Rodgers comment isn't going to have any bearing on Flynn's free-agent future, it's just an interesting comment by an athlete who could have easily lied and said his buddy would be "top 10" or "top five" or "better than Johnny Unitas."

In the meantime, don't list Aaron Rodgers as a reference on any future job application.

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