For Redskins, Ereck Flowers will factor into the offensive tackle battle

Ereck Flowers was signed by the Washington Redskins in hopes of converting to the guard position. But the current state of the roster could force the team to keep using him at tackle.

The Washington Redskins didn’t make a whole lot of noise during the 2019 free-agent period. They mad one massive move, inking safety Landon Collins to a deal that made him the highest-paid safety in the league and in NFL history. But aside from that, the team focused on adding role players to their roster.

One of those potential role players was Ereck Flowers. The Redskins decided to kick the tires on the former New York Giants first-round pick. Flowers, who went ninth overall in the 2015 NFL Draft, was cut by the Giants last year before finishing the campaign with the Jacksonville Jaguars. And now, the Redskins will give him a chance to prove himself on the offensive line.

Coming into the season, the goal was for the Redskins to move Flowers inside to guard. They were hoping that the former left tackle could use his size and athletic ability to man the left guard spot on their line. That position had been an issue for the team for the past five years, as Shawn Lauvao was a below-average option who couldn’t stay healthy. Flowers certainly wasn’t proven, but with one of the best offensive line coaches in the league, Bill Callahan, at the helm, there was some hope in the reclamation project.

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However, Flowers’ potential spot at guard is now in a bit of flux for a couple of reasons. The first is that the Redskins drafted Wes Martin in the fourth round out of Indiana. The strong mauler will have a chance to challenge for the starting job at left guard and likely will battle Flowers for the top spot there.

The other factor in the equation is that Flowers has been forced to play tackle at times during OTAs and minicamp. Because of the team’s lack of depth at tackle — Trent Williams is holding out while Geron Christian was recovering from surgery during camp — Flowers had no choice but to get some reps at tackle. Predictably, he struggled there, but if the team continues to have depth issues, he may have to keep playing there.

Going into training camp, the biggest question surrounding Flowers will be which position he is set to play. Obviously, he can cross-train at tackle and guard if necessary, but if he’s playing tackle too much, it could stunt his growth at guard, a position that he has never played before.

That said, the ‘Skins may have no choice but to use him at tackle. With Williams holding out, Christian and Morgan Moses are the top tackles. But behind them, the cupboard is relatively bare, as unproven players like Timon Parris, Tyler Catalina, Blake Hance, and Brian Wallace will be the top options.

For that reason, Flowers may factor into the offensive tackle battle a bit more than people are thinking. He’s not going to be anything close to a starting option, but he could get some run as the swing or fourth tackle on the roster solely because of the experience he has (59 career games, 55 starts).

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Flowers is going to be one of the wild cards on the line. His performance at tackle has been bad, but he may need to help hold the fort there. The team wants to move him to guard, but they may need to use him at multiple positions. This will make Flowers an interesting player to watch in training camp. But if he can’t improve his blocking at tackle or prove that he can play guard, it’s going to be hard for him to make the final roster.

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