Whether Peyton Manning remains an Indianapolis Colt or not is irrelevant when it comes to the future of the franchise.  This offseason Indianapolis will choose who they hope will be their quarterback for the next 10-15 seasons.  Maybe it’s Andrew Luck out of Stanford.  Maybe it’s Heisman trophy winner Robert Griffin III.  Either is a reasonable No. 1 overall pick and no one would blame the Colts for making it.  But what if the Colts throw a wrench in the draft?  What if they sign Matt Flynn via free agency?

Think about it.  The Colts need a quarterback.  Come March 13^th Matt Flynn will be the hottest available NFL ready QB via free agency.  The general consensus seems to be that Flynn will reunite with former Green Bay Packers’ offensive coordinator Joe Philbin, now head coach of the Miami Dolphins.  But if you’re the Colts why not go after Flynn yourself? Flynn will enter his 5th NFL season in 2012.  Although he has only had limited play during his tenure as a backup to Aaron Rodgers, when he has gotten his opportunities to play, he has made the most of them.

In two career starts Flynn has thrown for over 800 yards with nine touchdowns.  Those numbers would be hard to replicate on Madden.  Furthermore, Flynn holds two Green Bay passing records; one for most yards in a game – 480, the other for most touchdowns in a game –six.  That’s not bad when you consider that guys like Bart Starr, Brett Favre and now Aaron Rodgers have all played quarterback for Green Bay.

So why wouldn’t the Colts consider Flynn?  Every team that needs a starting QB should.  And does Indianapolis truly know how Luck or Griffin will perform as a pro?  Nope.  Just like the Raiders didn’t know about JaMarcus Russell and the Browns didn’t know about Tim Couch.  Why go with the unknown if you have a chance with the known?  Besides, what are the chances that the NFL hits QB jackpots on back to back years with the No. 1 overall pick in the draft; Cam Newton in 2011.

If the Colts could sign Flynn, they could move down in the draft and get additional picks with trades to either the Cleveland Browns or Washington Redskins; either of which would likely still make Luck the No. 1 overall pick.  With the additional picks the Colts could bring in some pieces to surround Flynn with and make the team competitive again.

Sure, a thousand things would have to go right to pull this scenario off and we’re stuck on number 18 for the time being.  I just know that first round quarterbacks are hit or miss with no in between and after all the success Manning brought to the Colts’ organization, drafting a quarterback first overall who doesn’t pan out would set that franchise back for a decade.   That would equate to 10 years of bad Tweets for Colts’ owner Jim Irsay.  And no one wants that.

You can follow Aaron on Twitter @Da_Bear_Truth.

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