Detroit Lions: Does a defensive change point to Trey Flowers returning?

Is Trey Flowers set to return to the Detroit Lions in 2022 amid a scheme change?

Recently, I was lucky enough to ask Jeremy Reisman of Pride Of Detroit a few questions regarding Trey Flowers’ future, the upcoming NFL Draft, and more.

First off, where do you stand on Trey Flowers? 

Trey Flowers is a good player and a better teammate. He’s also a well-rounded, smart player on the field who understands his assignment and how to read offenses properly. In terms of work ethic and locker room presence, you aren’t going to find many players who can match him.

But elite pass rusher, he is not. He is good at a lot of things but not top-tier in anything, and that makes it hard to justify the $23 million cap hit he’s currently occupying on the Lions’ books. And with Flowers missing 19 games over the past two seasons, it’s hard to trust him to play an entire season.

Tuesday head coach Dan Campbell mentioned that the Lions would be transitioning to a four-man front rather than a 3-4 base look.  This defensive front seems to play into Flowers’ strength. Is there a chance he remains with the Lions knowing this change?

I agree that this move plays to his strengths more, and the coaching staff certainly likes him a lot. But I thought it was telling when Dan Campbell was asked about Flowers, and he only spoke of the veteran defensive end’s “intangibles.” Perhaps I’m reading too much into it, but it really sounds like he’s trying to talk up Flowers’ character without addressing the fact that his level of play on the field just isn’t cutting it anymore.

Character does go a long way with this regime, though, so I’m not going to rule out a return completely.