According to a report from Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, the Detroit Lions are releasing their starting edge rusher Trey Flowers. This move was expected as Flowers was scheduled to have a $23.2 million cap hit in 2022, and his on-field output wasn’t warranting that level of compensation.
Flowers was drafted by the New England Patriots and after four years of building an impressive resume, former Lions general manager Bob Quinn and former coach Matt Patricia (both formerly of the Patriots) made a strong push to bring him to Detroit, hoping to make him the cornerstone of their defense—agreeing to a five-year, $90 million contract.