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The Detroit Lions have landed their white whale. According to Adam Schefter, free agent edge defender Trey Flowers will be signing with the Lions:
Patriots DE Trey Flowers intends to sign with Detroit, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 11, 2019
It’s not often that a move which makes so much logical sense actually happens, but the general manager Bob Quinn managed to rope in what was likely his biggest target in free agency.
This all but spells the end for the Ezekiel Ansah era in Detroit, but the Lions have their new pass rusher, and he’s got quite the pedigree coming from his time with the Patriots:
Trey Flowers was the third highest graded EDGE defender during the 2018 regular season putting up an ELITE grade of 90.4 overall.
— Brett Whitefield (@PFF_Brett) March 11, 2019
Flowers brings much needed pass rush to Detroit and even better run defense. https://t.co/pzqIttZIfP https://t.co/gGHimcAGMd
Considering Matt Patricia’s familiarity with Flowers, there’s no reason to expect a drop in performance under a near-identical defense.
We’re still waiting on exact contract terms, but according to ESPN’s Field Yates, the deal is expected to be worth at least $16 million per year. This would put Flowers within the top-10 highest contracts per year at the position. Schefter is reporting the deal is for five years.
Per @AdamSchefter, Trey Flowers deal with the Lions is expected to something close to $16M-$17M per season. Massive.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) March 11, 2019
UPDATE: The deal is actually worth $90 million for five years. You can read more on the terms here.