NFL Free Agency 2012 : 5 Backups That Deserve a Chance at a Starting Gig

With the free agency period in 2012, comes big names.

You have marquee names such as Drew Brees, Vincent Jackson, Ray Rice and Matt Forte on the market.

Obviously players of that magnitude will get all of the attention come March and will get receive monumental contracts.

On the other end of the spectrum, you have players of lesser known value.

I'm not talking about players who are somewhat household names or players that are household names and are past their primes.

I'm talking about players who are currently backups that deserve a chance at getting a starting gig in 2012.

These are players that have a legit chance at making a mark as a starter in the NFL in 2012 based upon potential or their limited amounts of starting experience.

Remember how Matt Schaub was a highly touted backup of Michael Vick despite starting only two games for the Atlanta Falcons?

That didn't stop the Texans from handing over two second-round draft picks to Atlanta for Schaub. In the process of acquiring Schaub, they had released former No. 1 overall pick and "franchise" quarterback David Carr on the same day.

But then again, you could end up being a team like the Seahawks who overspend on a player of Tarvaris Jackson's magnitude.

Here are five backups that deserve a chance at a starting gig in 2012.

QB Matt Flynn

This guy isn't quite as highly touted as a backup quarterback as Schaub was in the mid-2000s, however, he is a name commonly thrown around by teams that need a stopgap or quick fix at quarterback.

Flynn won a national championship at LSU in 2007, became a seventh-round draft pick of the Packers in the 2008, beat out second-round draft pick Brian Brohm for the backup gig to Aaron Rodgers and nearly led the Packers to an upset of the best team in the 2010 regular season, the New England Patriots in his one career start.

Flynn doesn't have much talent in comparison to the majority of the starting quarterbacks in the NFL; however, he has displayed good decision making and leadership to overcompensate for the lack of skill set in his limited experience in the NFL.

You factor in that he is backing up the best quarterback in the league and has been a part of a Super Bowl champion team?

It would be a no-brainer to at least give this guy a shot at winning a starting quarterback job, such as what the Seahawks did this past season with Tarvaris Jackson and Charlie Whitehurst.

Put Flynn in there with another veteran quarterback throughout the offseason and training camp and see what he brings to the table.

If it's anything like his three touchdown performance against the Patriots, Flynn may not be a team's long-term option, but he can definitely be a short-term option.

RB Michael Bush

Yes, I know this guy is currently starting and lighting it up for the Raiders.

But that is only because of Darren McFadden's never-ending injury that has shelved him for the past month.

Bush was one of the top prospects entering the 2007 draft, before a broken left tibia in the first game of the 2006 season shelved him for nearly two years.

After missing the entire 2007 season for what would have been his rookie campaign, he finally made his mark in the last game of the 2008 season when he rushed for 177 yards and two touchdowns in denying the Bucs a playoff spot.

Bush doesn't have the game-breaking abilities that his teammate McFadden has; however, Bush is a big back who can run over guys. He may not have the speed to outrun defensive backs for long touchdowns but he can wear a defense down by pounding the football.

At 6'2" and 243 pounds, it would be hard to find a lot of running backs who are bigger than Bush.

The concern with Bush is, "Can he be an every-down back?". There have been games where he's been amazing with the Raiders, and there have been games where he's been downright poor, such as the 10 carry, 18 yard clunker vs. the Dolphins this past Sunday.

With the NFL becoming a vertical-passing league and more and more teams utilizing two running back committees, Bush would be the perfect running back to use alongside another quality halfback to split carries for an NFL team in 2012.

QB Vince Young

Yeah, yeah, I know the shine quickly wore off of Vince Young's "comeback bid" after consecutive losses to the Patriots and Seahawks.

However, Young is only 28 years old and has plenty of football left in him. He should be in the prime of his career.

Young showed on national television vs. the New York Giants that he's still a winning quarterback when he led a drive that lasted 17 plays and nine minutes in the fourth quarter that culminated in the game-winning touchdown pass with just a few minutes remaining.

Young is 31-19 as a starting quarterback in the league and has never had a losing season in his career.

Given the right situation with a good running game and a stable defense, Young can make the best out of a dire situation.

In Tennessee, his best receiving options were guys like Erron Kinney and Nate Washington.

As criticized as Young as been over his career, he has proven to be a winning quarterback in less-than-spectacular situations and his resume shows that.

Young deserves a starting job for an NFL team in 2012.

WR Robert Meachem

A former first-round draft pick in 2007 out of Tennessee, Meachem hasn't been a great receiver, but he has found a valuable role in the Saints' pass-first offense.

Drew Brees has many weapons, so he spreads it out as much as he can. When you have Marques Colston, Jimmy Graham, Devery Henderson, Darren Sproles, Lance Moore and Meachem on the same squad, it's sometimes hard to grab a lot of receptions if you're in Meachem's role.

Despite that, Meachem has become one of the top deep threats in the game. At 6'2" and 210 pounds, Meachem has the size to be a go-to guy in the NFL.

At only 27 years of age, if a team gives a chance for Meachem to truly shine and show off his skill set, Meachem could legitimately become one of the top free-agent signings of 2012.

RB Mike Tolbert

Does anybody think "Mike Alstott" when they see this guy?

Tolbert isn't going to wow anybody with long runs or 4.3 speed. He''ll simply run over you and dominate in short-yardage situations.

Tolbert is best as a utility-back but he can share carries in a split backfield. He's done this over the past two seasons alongside Ryan Matthews and he ended up accumulating 11 touchdowns on just 182 carries in 2010.

The Chargers will likely re-sign Tolbert due to Matthews being unproven as a starting tailback, but Tolbert should definitely receive more of an opportunity to be the "Alstott" to somebody's "Warrick Dunn".