Getty Former New England Patriots pass rusher Trey Flowers getting ready ahead of a play during an NFL game.
New York Jets general manager Joe Douglas has maintained that he will never be satisfied with his roster, regardless of how good it looks on the outside.
With that in mind, the green and white have a rare opportunity to add some more juice to their pass rush heading into training camp.
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A Forgotten Player From Their Past
Alex Kay of Bleacher Report recently highlighted eight current NFL free agents that we can’t believe are still available at this stage of the offseason.
One of the names he brought up is former Detroit Lions pass rusher Trey Flowers.
The 28-year-old (who will be 29 by the start of the 2022 season) spent the last three seasons in eight-mile after signing a record-breaking five-year $90 million contract in free agency.
Detroit released the veteran this offseason in a financially driven decision. Over the last two seasons, Flowers missed 19 games due to an array of injuries.
The 6-foot-2, 265-pound pass rusher initially entered the NFL as the No. 101 overall pick in the fourth round of the 2015 NFL draft.
The former Arkansas product quickly made a name for himself with the New England Patriots as a solid rotational pass rusher.
Trey Flowers is a bad man.
In his four years with the Patriots he won a pair of Super Bowl championships and racked up the stats:
- 21 sacks
- 59 quarterback hits
- 25 tackles for loss
Despite the production, the Patriots in classic fashion used him for what he was worth and then let him walk in free agency. Not bad production for a fourth-round draft choice and then another team had to cough up the bag to secure him.
Although after a recent run of injuries, Kay believes he can be had at a “bargain bin price” which could be great news for the Jets.
Back during his first trip in free agency, the Jets were interested in him but as Connor Hughes of The Athletic noted on Twitter the feeling “wasn’t mutual.”
The #Jets wanted Trey Flowers. One issue: Feeling wasn’t mutual. Heard from two league sources he shortened his list to two teams: Dolphins & Lions.
Perhaps a new regime taking over at 1 Jets Drive and a few years removed from this decision could open the door for a pairing.
Too Much Depth?
The Jets have over 17 defensive linemen and will likely keep 10 plus on the final 53-man roster.
At a certain point adding anything to this unit must feel like throwing buckets of water into the ocean in terms of depth. However, we saw last year how quickly that narrative can change when a rash of injuries hits one positional group.
There are no visions of grandeur as it pertains to adding Flowers. He has never had a double-digit sack season, however, what he can provide is consistency.
From 2016 through 2019, Flowers had at least 6.5 sacks in each of those seasons.
While the last couple of years have been rough, head coach Robert Saleh has a proven track record of getting the most out of the talent that is put in front of him.
This could be a perfect marriage between a player lost in the weeds and a Jets team in desperate search of a consistent pass rush.
A one-year prove-it deal would be a minuscule financial investment by Gang Green and would provide all the motivation in the world for Flowers to reestablish his market heading into the 2023 offseason.
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