The Sports Xchange

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — When quarterback Matt Flynn signed with the New England Patriots last week and easily became the second most experienced passer on the team’s depth chart, it did not automatically make him No. 2 behind Tom Brady.

Flynn was brought aboard as insurance as Brady’s appeal of his four-game league suspension in the Deflategate scandal plays itself out. Second-year Patriot Jimmy Garoppolo, the 2014 second-round pick out of Eastern Illinois, is the clear No. 2 right now, and will slide into the starting role if Brady misses time to open the year.

“We thought it was the right time to do it,” head coach Bill Belichick said of adding the experienced veteran after releasing former practice-squadder Garrett Gilbert.

Flynn played in 51 games over the last seven seasons. He has a career passer rating of 85.9. His first NFL start in 2010 saw him throw for 250 yards and three touchdowns at Gillette Stadium against the Patriots.

So what does that experience offer his new team?

“We’ll see,” Belichick said. “He’s had some playing experience. We’ll see how it goes. What he needs to do is learn what we’re doing and try to go out there and execute it well. That’s what his job is.”

Flynn was not talking in terms of competing with Garoppolo for any stand-in role if Brady misses time.

“Right now I have a big task ahead of me, and that’s learning the playbook,” Flynn said on Tuesday after the first day of New England’s mandatory three-day minicamp. “That’s the only thing that I’m thinking of right now, and that’s the only thing they’re telling me to do right now is learn. And then, we’ll go from there.”

–Belichick and the Patriots received the payoff for winning Super Bowl XLIX Sunday, picking up massive rings adorned with 205 diamonds in a ceremony at the home of owner Robert Kraft.

Two days later, just off the field from the first minicamp practice, Belichick didn’t talk about the bling but preferred to focus on the 2015 task at hand.

“It was a great night, but really that kind of closes the book on last season,” Belichick said. “We’ll just move ahead to 2015, which is where we need to be.”

–Tight end Scott Chandler has been one of the stars of New England’s OTA and minicamp practices. The free agent and former Buffalo Bill spent a lot of time working with Rob Gronkowski and Brady. The team hopes to utilize the two tight ends together in so-called “12 personnel,” especially in the red zone. Chandler was a little banged up late in Tuesday’s minicamp practice, but said he was “OK.”

He emphasized that although he has a start to building a rapport with Brady, it’s still early in the process.

“I still think there is a lot of room to grow there, and a lot to learn,” Chandler told reporters. “But it’s coming along. We try to take a step forward every day.”