FOXBORO -- Ryan Lindley had one thing that Matt Flynn didn't. His health.
The Patriots signed Lindley as a free agent on Monday after Flynn was released. Flynn began training camp on the team's non-football injury list and never passed his physical, according to Belichick.
When asked what made Lindley the best fit among the free-agent quarterbacks that were available, Belichick cited a few reasons, including a simple one: Lindley can play right now; Flynn can't.
"He's got some experience," Belichick said of the former Cardinals and Chargers signal-caller. "He's been in a couple of different organizations, played some. And he's healthy. That's the most important trait."
Had Flynn been healthy enough to participate in practices and potentially play in the preseason opener against the Packers, he may have lasted on the 90-man roster. But with Thursday night's game looming, the team likely felt as though it had to make a move to be prepared.
"There's definitely something to that, yeah," Belichick said. "We don't have forever here. The train's moving."
With Lindley in the Patriots facility and out at practices -- he was present at the start of Monday's session -- he'll have a few days to grasp the basics of the Patriots offense before seeing Green Bay.
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Once Flynn is healthy enough to play, however, he could be back in New England.
"We'll see how it goes," Belichick said. "I wouldn't rule it out. We've brought back plenty of players that were here and weren't here and then came back here. I know he worked hard. It was frustrating. He couldn't get out there. We couldn't see him out there. That's the way it was."