Matt Flynn Rumors: Dolphins Must Abandon Peyton Pipe Dream and Chase Flynn

As Peyton Manning continues to destroy the hopes and dreams of so many desperate franchises, Matt Flynn lies in wait of what will ultimately be a rather soft market for his services.

Free agency opens on Tuesday and 4 p.m. EST, and the only quarterback whose name has been on teams' lips thus far is the recently released Manning.

However, it appears that nearly every team but the Arizona Cardinals and Denver Broncos are out of the running. Cleveland and Minnesota pulled out while the Chiefs and Seahawks both saw their plans to meet with Manning rejected by the QB.

As ESPN's Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen put it, there have been no negotiations with any teams, but the Cardinals and Broncos have "emerged as favorites."

That leaves the Miami Dolphins somewhere in the middle. They haven't met with Manning, despite the fact the first place he went after his release was Miami. They haven't been eliminated, either. The ESPN report says he may still "talk independently" with new Dolphins coach Joe Philbin.

Philbin really is the kicker in all of this.

The one thing the Broncos and Cardinals have in common, other than questionable quarterback play and divisions that can be had for the taking, is coaches that Manning appears to trust.

The QB has a close relationship with Broncos Executive Vice President of Football Operations and Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway. He also respects coach John Fox.

He also has a personal relationship with Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt that includes a history as golf buddies.

Philbin has none of that. In fact, Peyton had already won his first NFL MVP award when Philbin first landed an NFL job. Fox was well into his NFL career by the time Peyton was a rookie and Whisenhunt got started the year before.

What Philbin does have is a relationship with soon-to-be free agent Matt Flynn.

The 26-year-old quarterback has known no other offensive coordinator since entering the league and is a naturally rumored fit with the Dolphins should they miss on Peyton.

Come Tuesday afternoon, when free agency kicks off, the Dolphins have to hope they've heard something encouraging from Peyton or abandon that dream altogether and focus their resources on landing Flynn instead.

It is obviously a big step down in class from Peyton to Flynn, but the Dolphins don't have the luxury of falling back on anyone else.

With Washington already trading up for the rights to the No. 2 overall pick, Miami would be forced to reach in the first round of the draft for Ryan Tannehill if they wanted to take the route of a rookie quarterback.

This team has tried—and failed—too many times on second-round quarterbacks in recent years to consider anything less than a first-round pick or a developmental player for later. They already have one of those in Pat Devlin.

The Dolphins believe they're capable of competing in the AFC right now if they can land the right quarterback under center. In the next 24 hours or so, they're going to have to come to grips with the fact that Peyton still hasn't came calling and Flynn will soon be available for other teams.

They'd be foolish not to be the first team on Flynn's doorstep.

As much as the Dolphins want Peyton, they need a quarterback more than anything. They may not be able to get what they want, but they may get what they need if they act accordingly.