Washington Football Team: 3 bold targets to pursue at trade deadline
By Jerry Trotta
1. Trey Flowers
Wait, another pass-rusher? Doesn’t Washington already have too many of those? Well, yes, but only in the starting lineup. Behind the five regulars, the defense has minimal depth at the position, and it’s fair to question why the front office opted against bolstering the defensive end position in free agency.
You can never have too many pass-rushers in today’s NFL, and Flowers — much like Jamie Collins, who we pegged as a target for Washington after he was released by Detroit — has the versatility to play defensive end and outside linebacker.
Even better? Flowers is a savant against the run, earning run-defense grades of 70 or better, including a 76.8 mark in 2019, in all three of his seasons with the Lions.
Trey Flowers counters with the long arm & floors his blocker on the way to a sack. Yes, there was some “friendly fire” from Mattison tripping up Hill, but Flowers execution of the long arm counter was a good one! #passrush #onepride pic.twitter.com/Hh9cj1NYC6
— DLineVids (@dlinevids1) October 11, 2021
Washington ranks in the middle of the pack against the run this season, allowing nearly 115 yards per game. Flowers would solve a lot of those problems, and he could be acquired at a discount given his pass-rushing numbers don’t jump off the screen.
With Detroit just starting a full-blown rebuild, they should be shopping Flowers for a mid-round draft pick. The only caveat is his contract, which has two years and $32 million remaining after this season.
Perhaps the Lions can reach some sort of compromise with the 28-year-old before the Nov. 2 deadline, because there’s no way Washington can add his $16 million salary to their current payroll.
If that happens, we are definitely intrigued by the idea of acquiring Flowers. If he falls on his face, Washington could always cut bait with him in the offseason, whether it be via release or another trade.
