Patriots Rumors: Trey Flowers not a lock for an extension
Recent New England Patriots rumors involve defensive end Trey Flowers, who is not considered a lock for a contract extension.
New England Patriots rumors have slowed down with the offseason winding down. Teams rosters are pretty much set as training camp will be getting underway in the coming weeks. However, there are some rumors involving the future of the Patriots, namely defensive end, Trey Flowers.
Flowers was a fourth-round pick of New England in 2015. However, he has quickly turned into one of the Patriots mainstays along their defensive line.
After playing only one game in his rookie season, Flowers has been a regular in the lineup the past two seasons. He has recorded 13.5 sacks in the past two seasons, adding 68 tackles with 39 assisted tackles. He also has four passes defended, two fumble recoveries and two forced fumbles.
Flowers has developed into a legitimate pass rushing threat for New England. Last season, he was their only consistent pass rushing threat. Despite missing two games, he led all defensive linemen in snaps played last year for the Patriots.
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Given those accomplishments, it would seem to be a no-brainer that the Patriots would want to lock Flowers up to a long-term deal. Flowers is up for an extension following this season, but it sounds like he is no a shoe-in for a long-term deal.
According to Tom E. Curran of NBC Sports Boston, Flowers isn’t considered a lock for an extension.
"Conventional wisdom would say he gets paid what other young DEs are making, which could be in the neighborhood of $13 million per season. But the Patriots have pushed away from the table before when their accomplished homegrown guys get real expensive, so a Flowers extension is no sure thing."
We have seen how the Patriots operate when it comes to contract negotiations. They will set a price they are comfortable with and rarely if ever, go above that price. We saw it happen this offseason as integral parts of the roster, Danny Amendola, Dion Lewis, Nate Solder and Malcolm Butler, went elsewhere for more money.
Flowers is someone that the Patriots should consider locking down even if it is a little pricier than they are used to paying. Finding legitimate pass rushers isn’t an easy thing to do. If you have one on your roster, conventional wisdom is that you lock him down before he hits the open market.
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If the Patriots can keep Flowers in the neighborhood of other young defensive ends, the Patriots should go for that. If he hits the open market, there is a good chance that he receives and offer way above market price, much like Solder received from the New York Giants.