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With the Detroit Lions releasing Chris Houston last week, they could use some help at cornerback. One way to go about adding help at cornerback would be to sign Brandon Flowers, who was released by the Kansas City Chiefs on the same day that Houston became a free agent.
On Monday, the Lions were connected to Flowers. They were reportedly one of 10 teams that "reached out" to him, indicating that Flowers is generating a lot of interest around the league. What's more, Jason La Canfora tweeted this:
The Lions are seriously considering making a run at free agent corner Brandon Flowers
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) June 16, 2014
Now, it's important to keep in mind that simply getting in contact with Flowers doesn't mean the Lions will actually offer him a contract. The same goes for the above tweet. Just because they are considering "making a run" at him doesn't mean they will actually make a run at him. The Lions certainly seem to be exploring the possibility of adding Flowers, but at this point, based on Dave Birkett's report from Monday, it's far from a sure thing that they will actually pursue the free-agent cornerback.
Flowers, 28, has started at least 13 games in all six of his NFL seasons, but opinions in Allen Park are split about how much he has left as a cornerback and whether he'd be a scheme fit in new coordinator Teryl Austin's system.
Birkett also reported that the Lions "don't view [Flowers] as a sure-fire solution to their secondary woes." In addition, Birkett mentioned that the Lions would likely keep Darius Slay and Rashean Mathis as their two starters at the outside cornerback spots and plug Flowers in as the nickelback if they were to sign him. In other words, Flowers is viewed as an upgrade over Bill Bentley in the slot, but at least initially, his role would be limited to the Lions' nickel package.
If the Lions are indeed split on Flowers, and if he would simply be their nickelback, I have a tough time believing that he will land in Detroit. This isn't a situation where Flowers will be signed for a minimum type of deal, so would it really be worthwhile to sign him simply as an upgrade over Bentley? Having more overall talent in the secondary would certainly be nice, but from a fit standpoint, the Lions don't exactly seem like the best match for Flowers.