Will Patriots, Trey Flowers Reunite After Release From Lions?
BOSTON (CBS) -- There's a certain rhythm to an NFL career that can happen to a player who succeeds in New England: Play well for the Patriots, earn a ton of money elsewhere, then return to Foxboro once that big-money deal has run its course. Might Trey Flowers be the next player to complete that cycle?
Flowers was informed of his impending release from the Lions, ending a disappointing three-year stint in Detroit. Flowers signed a five-year, $90 million contract with $56 million guaranteed as a free agent in 2019. Yet with a $1.625 million roster bonus due on the third day of the new league year for 2022, Flowers will be done in Detroit early.
That will, quite obviously, perk up some eyebrows in New England, where Flowers is remembered as a tenacious game-changing presence on the defensive line instead of the inconsistent and oft-injured player he was in Detroit.
Flowers -- a fourth-round draft pick out of Arkansas in 2015 -- won two Super Bowls with the Patriots, averaging seven sacks per season from 2016-18. He recorded 25 tackles for a loss, 100 solo tackles, 59 QB hits, six pass defenses and five forced fumbles in those three years. He also had 5.5 sacks in nine playoff games, including a critical sack of Matt Ryan in Super Bowl LI to help make the 28-3 comeback happen.
It was that performance that earned Flowers his monster payday in free agency. Matt Patricia, then in his second season as the Lions' head coach, obviously liked Flowers quite a bit. Patricia now being a trusted member of Bill Belichick's inner circle will only add to the wonder of a potential reunion with Flowers.
The Patriots have brought back some talented defensive players who had departed via free agency in recent years. Last year, they re-signed Kyle Van Noy, just a year after he had signed with Miami. Jamie Collins has had two reunions with the Patriots, while Patrick Chung's return to New England was critical to driving the second leg of the dynasty.
Unless and until the 28-year-old Flowers signs elsewhere, eyes in New England will remain on the lookout for a potential return in Foxboro.
