Redskins reportedly ‘engaged in contract talks’ with Ereck Flowers

Ereck Flowers was a pleasant surprise for the Washington Redskins last season and it looks like the team wants to keep him moving forward.

Last offseason, the Washington Redskins made a smart move on the free-agent market. They signed Ereck Flowers to a no-risk one-year deal worth $4 million to see if they could find a way to utilize the former top-10 pick that had struggled since coming to the NFL.

The team’s plan was to start Flowers at the left guard position, but it took a while for him to actually get reps there. The reason? The Redskins were so thin at tackle last offseason that they had to have him man the position for part of training camp. But once Donald Penn came along, Flowers moved to the inside and found a path to success at left guard.

Flowers started all 16 games for the Redskins and as he learned the ins and outs of his new position, the fifth-year veteran improved. He wasn’t perfect. But given that he had so few reps on the interior offensive line, he did well enough. And the fact that he continued to get better each game demonstrated his overall upside, especially considering that he will only turn 26 in April.

Thus, it’s no surprise that the Redskins want to keep Flowers around. According to NBC Sports Washington’s JP Finlay, the team is “engaged in contract talks” with Flowers.

As Finlay points out, there’s no guarantee that this works out. But it would seemingly make sense for both sides to agree to a deal.

For the Redskins, it would be all about continuity. They have a solid interior line between Flowers, Chase Roullier, and Brandon Scherff (a franchise tag candidate), so why would they want to break it up? They have the cap space needed to extend Flowers and tag or extend Scherff, so it would be sensible for them to do so. And if they do that, they could focus on upgrading the offensive tackle position in the tackle-strong 2020 NFL Draft class.

As for Flowers, he had failed tenures with the New York Giants and Jacksonville Jaguars before finding success with the Redskins. Why would he want to go elsewhere? He will be playing under a new coaching staff, but the ‘Skins seem to believe in his potential and upside. If the Redskins give him a fair offer of three years and somewhere between $5-$7 million annually, that should be enough to keep him around.

We’ll see what ultimately happens with Flowers, but a return to Washington would make the most sense. The team can bank on his upside while Flowers can bank on getting some more guaranteed money and playing where he found the first real success of his NFL career.