BOSTON (CBS) -- The Patriots are adding a quarterback. And any time the Patriots add a quarterback, it's going to make some news.

Shortly after releasing second-year NFLer Garrett Gilbert, the Patriots agreed to a deal with Matt Flynn, according to Dianna Marie Russini.

Flynn didn't get much action last year, throwing just 16 passes as Aaron Rodgers' backup, but he visited Foxboro this week to work out for the Patriots. They apparently liked what they saw.

The meaning of the signing could be interpreted a number of ways. It could just represent the addition of a veteran with some playing experience to the roster. Gilbert had never played in an NFL game, and Jimmy Garoppolo has thrown just 27 passes in his one-year career.

While Flynn did not see the field much last year for Green Bay, he's been in the NFL for seven seasons and has thrown 357 passes, starting seven games along the way. He started a game in December of 2010 in Foxboro, going 24-for-37 for 251 yards, three touchdowns and one interception while coming up just shy of beating the Patriots. He's also turned in a 480-yard passing performance in a 2011 Week 17 game against the Lions, one that earned him a big-money contract that following offseason from the Seahawks. However, then-rookie Russell Wilson beat out Flynn for the starting job in Seattle in 2012.

Flynn spent the 2013 season with three teams -- Oakland, Buffalo and then back with Green Bay -- completing 62 percent of his passes while throwing 8 TDs and 5 INTs.

If you were to put a grade on Flynn as an NFL quarterback, he'd probably get a solid "OK." He's fine  in a pinch.

Now, because Tom Brady is currently facing a four-game suspension, more attention than usual will be paid to the backup QB position. Brady is appealing the suspension, and there remains a chance the punishment gets lessened by Roger Goodell or eventually wiped away completely by the courts. But in the event the Patriots need to make it through somewhere between one and four games without Brady, the backup quarterback figures to play a prominent role in keeping the team afloat.

So the signing of Flynn does nothing to state one way or the other what the Patriots are expecting out of Brady's appeal, nor does it mean the Patriots don't trust Garoppolo to start those games in September if need be. (Though it should be remembered that Garoppolo is not too far removed from spending his Saturdays playing against Southeast Missouri State, The University of Tennessee at Martin, Southern Illinois, Jacksonville State and Austin Peay, so the idea that he can just step right in and win games in the NFL is an assumption that folks should be cautious to make.)

It merely means the Patriots are setting themselves up with a backup plan, while simultaneously adding competition to the position.

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