Andrew Norwell’s contract details with Commanders justify Ereck Flowers’ release

The Washington Commanders took a lot of fans by surprise when they released starting LG Ereck Flowers before the new league year on Wednesday.

After helping Washington’s offensive line finish sixth in Pro Football Focus’ end-of-season rankings and contributing to the unit’s 63% pass-block win rate, which ranked ninth in the league, most assumed the front office would lower Flowers’ $10 million cap hit in the form of a one- or two-year contract extension.

Alas, the acquisition of Carson Wentz forced the Commanders into making some cutthroat decisions, and Flowers bit the bullet.

All hope is not lost, though. After releasing the 27-year-old guard, the team turned around and signed free agent Andrew Norwell. It’s a smart piece of business from Washington and Norwell’s contract details make it look even more quick-witted.

According to Ben Standig of The Athletic, Norwell’s deal is worth $10 million over two years and includes $4.7 million guaranteed.

Andrew Norwell’s reported contract details justify the Commanders decision to release Ereck Flowers.

The decision to release Flowers and sign Norwell won’t technically be justified until we see how Norwell performs as Flowers’ replacement. At face value, though, this is exactly the kind of move a functional front office executes.

While Flowers solidified the left guard position for Washington, the fact Norwell’s entire contract amounts to what they were scheduled to pay Flowers in 2022 alone is a steal when you consider Norwell has a longer track record of success.

That’s nothing against Flowers, obviously, but there’s a case to be made that the Commanders upgraded while saving money in the process. A former All-Pro under Ron Rivera in Carolina back in 2017, Norwell owns a 79.8 pass-blocking grade since 2017, per Pro Football Focus. That ranks eighth at the OG position.

Despite being a few years older than Flowers, Norwell has started 42 of a possible 46 games over the last three seasons. During that span, he played 2,967 — or 98.6 percent — of Jacksonville’s offensive snaps and his 75.7 pass-blocking grade ranks in the top 20 amongst all offensive linemen, let alone guards.

https://twitter.com/Commanders/status/1504560234110533637

In 2021 alone, Norwell was as steady as ever for the Jaguars, starting all 17 games and allowing just three sacks, five quarterback hits and 24 pressures. His nine penalties are a cause for concern, but he was flagged 14 times in the previous four seasons combined, so there’s reason to believe that number will drop.

Assuming Norwell maintains that consistency, Commanders fans won’t end up missing Flowers all that much, if at all. As much as Flowers deserved an extension, the Wentz trade complicated his future and the fact they’re paying Norwell in two years what they owed Flowers in 2022 alone is extremely good business.

Let’s hope this trend continues in the second and third waves of free agency.