Trey Flowers may have an opportunity to be an AFC East pass rusher again. The Dolphins are working out the former Patriots and Lions edge defender, per Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter).
This marks Flowers’ first known audition since the Lions made him a cap casualty in March. Flowers spent the past three years in Detroit, following former New England DC Matt Patricia to the Lions. While the big-ticket contract Flowers signed in 2019 did not end up producing big results, the seven-year veteran remains one of the top players available.
The former Patriots standout, who turned 29 last week, struggled with injuries with the Lions. He played in just seven games in each of the past two seasons. He finished his final two Lions seasons on IR, totaling just 3.5 sacks in that span. With the Patriots, however, Flowers played a major role in helping the team to three straight Super Bowls. He will be looking for a bounce-back opportunity in 2022.
Flowers signed a five-year, $90M Lions pact in 2019, coming to Michigan after being New England’s top edge for multiple seasons. The former fourth-round pick became a reliable cog for the Pats following their 2016 Chandler Jones trade. Flowers recorded 21 sacks and 59 quarterback hits from 2016-18, forcing five fumbles in that span. He added 5.5 sacks in the playoffs, including a 2.5-sack showing in Super Bowl LI. While Flowers showed some of that form in Detroit, tallying seven sacks and 21 QB hits in 2019, injuries derailed his run on that monster contract.
When at full strength, the Dolphins are fairly well-situated on the edge. They re-signed Emmanuel Ogbah in March and added Melvin Ingram shortly after the draft. The team also has 2021 first-round pick Jaelan Phillips under long-term contract. A Flowers addition would seemingly be a move to add a rotational rusher.
Although Brian Flores is no longer with the Dolphins, the defensive coordinator he brought over — Josh Boyer — remains with the team. Boyer was in New England during Flowers’ stay, working as the Pats’ cornerbacks coach during that time.
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