Well, this one stings. Trey Flowers is going to Detroit on a massive 5 year deal, averaging somewhere around 17 million per year.
Losing Flowers sucks, no doubt. But, this shouldn’t come as a surprise. When Flowers didn’t get an extension before the season, followed by the lack of a franchise tag, you knew deep down he was gone. And good for him. The guy played his ass off and earned a massive pay day. We will be forever grateful for his impact plays, consistent on-field presence, and low-key off the field. The question now becomes what do the Patriots do to try and replace him.
The signing of Bennett helps soften the blow, but he alone will not make up for the loss of Flowers. Deatrich Wise will see an increase in play time, as the former college and professional teammate of Flowers has shown flashes, but will now need to be more consistent.
Derek Rivers, the Patriots first selection in the 2017 draft, will also step into a bigger role. In limited playing time he looked— ok. There were a few plays where you saw his raw size and speed, but often times you forgot he was in on the play. They will need a big year 3 leap out of Rivers.
The same can be said about Keionta Davis. At the start of the season he was on the active roster and, like Rivers, looked OK. But he soon fell out of favor and was a healthy scratch for the majority of the season. He will need to be a solid rotational player to be effective.
Luckily, the draft is chock full of potential studs on the defensive line that could be had at the end of the first round or on day 2 of the draft. Who knows if Bill and Nick are thinking along those same lines, but, to the armchair general manager, there will be options in the draft.
No one person can replace Flowers. He was solid in everything that he was asked to do and was the ultimate team player. These are usually the guys that are resigned, but Flowers, at a premium position, was going to command too much money that Bill will invest elsewhere. Like always, in Bill we trust.
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