Flynn joined his seventh NFL team after previous stops in Green Bay, Seattle, Oakland, Buffalo and New England. Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
The New York Jets signed veteran quarterback Matt Flynn to a one-year contract on Wednesday to back up starter Ryan Fitzpatrick.
The Jets were in need of a reserve quarterback with Geno Smith sidelined for six to 10 weeks with a broken jaw.
Flynn joined his seventh NFL team after previous stops in Green Bay, Seattle, Oakland, Buffalo and New England.
The Patriots cut Flynn last week. He has a hamstring injury that will continue to restrict his practice time for about a week and keep him out of Friday night’s preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons.
“I’m happy to be here,” Flynn said. “I’m happy for the opportunity, and now I’m just trying to get acclimated. It’s kind of been a whirlwind the last couple of days.”
To clear space on the roster for Flynn, the Jets waived wide receiver Arthur Williams.
Flynn, who has thrown 17 career touchdown passes, is acclimating to the Jets and their playbook and hopes to be ready for their third preseason game against the New York Giants.
“Specifically, there wasn’t any talk about what a role is, what they want out of me right now,” Flynn said. “My focus has to be learning stuff — learning the playbook, learning what the heck is going on. Watching practice today, it was different. I didn’t know a lot of what was going on.”
The Jets gave Flynn a physical on Friday and decided to sign him in part because of his knowledge of offensive coordinator Chan Gailey’s system.
“He’s been around a few places,” Jets coach Todd Bowles said. “He kind of knows the system a little bit. He was the only one available, too.
“We needed a veteran right now.”
