This is Tyler Palko’s moment to shine — the one that back-up quarterbacks wait for years to get in order to seize that opportunity in the limelight. For Palko, the Matt Cassel injury presents not only his first shot at starting in the NFL but to do so in the biggest stage possible for the Chiefs in mid-season — on Monday Night Football against the New England Patriots.
Mike Silver says that Palko has a real chance to increase his stock in the eyes of GMs around the league in his latest column. The NFL has experienced several quarterback injuries lately — from Mike Vick to Matt Schaub and so a few guys can turn heads with good quarterback play this week, Palko included.
He writes, “Failing that (there are a lot of uncertainties about the Chiefs’ immediate future), Palko has a chance to convince potential suitors that he’s worth investing in as a legitimate NFL starter. If that seems far-fetched, think back to the flashes of competence which fattened the wallets of Scott Mitchell and Rob Johnson and, more recently, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Kevin Kolb.”
Silver also says that Palko should look no further than the best team in the NFL for his model.
“Palko’s role model should be Packers backup Matt Flynn(notes), who last December subbed for the injured Aaron Rodgers(notes) and nearly led Green Bay to a shocking upset of the Patriots. In his first career start, Flynn completed 24 of 37 passes for 251 yards and three touchdowns, and likely made himself a lot of money down the road.”