Washington Football Team makes great buy-low move trading for Ereck Flowers
The Washington Football Team has made a trade just days before the 2021 NFL Draft. And it’s one that will bring a familiar face back to Washington.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Washington Football Team has agreed to acquire guard Ereck Flowers from the Miami Dolphins for a swap of late-round picks.
Flowers, a former first-round pick of the New York Giants in the 2015 NFL Draft, played for Washington during the 2019 season. Originally a tackle, Flowers kicked inside to guard on his one-year deal in Washington and played very well at left guard. He started all 16 games and was a major, positive surprise for Washington.
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Flowers parlayed his performance into a three-year deal with the Dolphins worth $30 million in the 2020 offseason. He started 14 games for them last season and continued his solid play once again.
Why the Ereck Flowers trade makes sense for the Washington Football Team
So, why would Miami move on from Flowers? Well, the team has two top-18 picks in a tackle-rich draft and could opt to select someone like Penei Sewell with the No. 6 pick… if he’s on the board. If that happens, the ‘Phins could opt to play Sewell on the right side — Tua Tagovailoa’s blindside — and kick last year’s starting tackle Robert Hunt inside to guard.
Miami could’ve kept Flowers for depth purposes, but the fact is that the team doesn’t necessarily need him, especially with 2019 third-round pick Michael Dieter and recent free-agent signee D.J. Fluker at their disposal as well.
Meanwhile, for Washington, this is a terrific move. They are buying very low on Flowers by getting him for a late-round pick swap, yet he could emerge as the team’s starter at left guard. Either way, he adds depth and competition to the team’s offensive line and between him and Wes Schweitzer, Washington’s depth on the interior line looks strong.
Additionally, from a cost perspective, since the Dolphins guaranteed $19.5 million of Flowers’ salary, Washington will be paying less than the $10 million average annual value price-tag that is listed for the guard. And if he doesn’t pan out this time around, they can move on from him next offseason for the low-ball dead-cap hit of $1 million.
There’s minimal downside to acquiring Flowers no matter what. He could emerge as a starter and if not, he’ll be a key depth piece that’s under contract for two more years. Amazingly, he’s still just 27 as well, so he’s still in the prime of his career.
Next. Full first-round mock with WFT going offense. dark
We’ll soon see if Ron Rivera and Co. are going to wheel and deal a bit more before the 2021 NFL Draft. But if this is any indication, the front office knows how to pick up valuable pieces on the trade market.