As the trade deadline gets closer, Lions’ edge rusher Trey Flowers has been tabbed as a fit for a floundering preseason Super Bowl contender.
At 0-7 the Detroit Lions are a seller, in a big picture sense, ahead of next Tuesday’s trade deadline. But a trade for a wide receiver could, and in the right circumstance should, be on the radar. Among the veterans on the Lions’ roster, Trey Flowers has been mentioned as a trade candidate.
Flowers missed nine games last season, and he missed two games earlier this season with a knee issue that continues to land him on the injury report. In five games this season, he has 20 tackles, 1.5 sacks, three quarterback hits and seven pressures.
Flowers is also in the third year of a five-year, $90 million contract given to him by the previous regime in Detroit. The Lions don’t have major cap issues going forward, but Flowers’ fit in the future is an open question.
Trey Flowers deemed a fit for the Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are struggling, and the defense has been bad. Frank Clark has zero sacks in four games played this season, and overall they are tied for last in the league in sacks (eight). Going deeper, the Chiefs’ pass rush metrics (pressure rate, etc.) are not that bad. But Steve Spagnuolo’s unit needs help.
As part of a list of 10 NFL trades that should happen before the deadline, Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports has pointed to Flowers as a fit for the Chiefs.
"Flowers has struggled to live up to the massive payday he got coming over from the Patriots, and the Lions, at 0-6, can stand to sacrifice his veteran presence for another pick for the rebuild. The Chiefs, meanwhile, need help getting after the QB, and adding Flowers in the trenches would enable them to free up Chris Jones once the Pro Bowler is healthy."
Benjamin’s hypothetical return for the Lions is a conditional 2023 fifth-round pick. That’s a clear nod to the Chiefs having to take on the rest of his contract, as well as Flowers’ generally being disappointing during his Detroit tenure.
Is a fifth-round pick (conditional or otherwise) enough in return for Flowers? At first glance it’s easy to say no, but it’s probably where his value is right now and Lions general manager Brad Holmes has to weigh trading him and losing a veteran presence on the defense against adding a Day 3 draft pick.