2012 NFL Free Agents: 3 QBs Teams Can't Afford to Overpay

There are always those quarterbacks who are signed primarily based on necessity.

This offseason will be no different, as a great deal of teams are looking for an answer under center for 2012.

This year's (probable) free-agent class comes complete with a middle-of-the-road veteran, a young player who has two starts to his name and a glorified future Hall of Famer who has reportedly had four neck surgeries in the past two years (bet you can't tell who I'm talking about).

Here are three quarterbacks many teams can't afford to overpay.

3. Peyton Manning

I'll say this: Teams desperate enough to ignore Manning's neck surgeries are going to go after him.

But there are some teams in the Peyton Manning Sweepstakes who don't necessarily have to put all their eggs in one basket. Teams that come to mind include the Arizona Cardinals and Cleveland Browns (quarterbacks didn't have a lot of talent and/or protection around them).

No one knows how Manning will perform next season if he makes it onto the field. He's a serious injury risk. Neck surgeries cannot be ignored, especially when you've had four of them.

2. Matt Flynn

There are plenty of reasons to like Matt Flynn (say, 480-plus-six reasons).

But Kevin Kolb was in much the same position as Flynn before last season and there are questions about whether he can be a franchise quarterback (although his offensive line last season was, well, offensive).

The fact of the matter is, teams truly don't know if Flynn is the next Aaron Rodgers or Matt Cassel. It's very risky to spend so much dough on an unproven quarterback.

1. Kyle Orton

When I think of Kyle Orton, I simply go, "Meh." He can do some good things on the football field, but he's not a quarterback who overly excites me.

Plenty of teams will be looking for a quarterback this season and there's a chance Orton could receive more than he's truly worth.

He's not a game-changer and he's approaching 30 years old. He's more of a stop-gap replacement than a quarterback who's going to lead you on a playoff run.