Dolphins Bring Flowers to their Defense
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The Miami Dolphins made it official Monday: They are adding another piece to their already-promising defense.
The team announced the signing of veteran edge defender Trey Flowers, one day after reports he had agreed to terms and four days after working out the former New England Patriots and Detroit Lions pass rusher.
The Dolphins, who return all 11 starters from their 2021 defense, are getting even deeper at the edge defender spot, with Flowers joining offseason acquisition Melvin Ingram, 2021 first-round pick Jaelan Phillips and Andrew Van Ginkel, who has missed practice time because of an appendix issue and might or might not be ready for the start of the regular season.
Flowers' main selling point to the Dolphins likely is how much he already understands about their scheme from his time with the Patriots and Lions. It’s also important to note that Flowers overlapped with Dolphins defensive coordinator Josh Boyer in New England from 2015-18.
Flowers had his best seasons with the Patriots as he recorded 21 total sacks from 2016-18, and his first season with the Lions saw him put up seven more sacks in 2019. He also recorded 33 tackles for loss from 2016 through 2019, proving to be a reliable force against the run and pass.
The Lions released Flowers earlier this offseason.
HOW TREY FLOWERS FITS IN MIAMI
Flowers is the prototype outside linebacker for Miami’s scheme. He’s stout in the running game and can line up in multiple spots. He could function as a backup for players like Phillips and Ingram, while also filling for someone like Emmanuel Ogbah.
Flowers also has limited experience rushing from a nose tackle position in obvious passing situations. This was a role relegated to Adam Butler last season, but he’s no longer on the team this year.
There are places Flowers can slot into Miami’s defensive front, but he is coming off his least productive pass-rushing season since his rookie season in 2015 when he only played in one game.
He recorded just 1.5 sacks, 24 total tackles, one tackle for loss and three quarterback hits last season in seven games. PFF credited Flowers with just six total pressures last season, which was down from his 2020 career-low of 13 pressures.
Those are a far cry from Flowers’ usual pressure numbers. He recorded at least 60 pressures for three straight seasons from 2016 to 2019.
In defense of Flowers’ 2021 numbers, he did finish the season on injured reserve with a knee injury.
However, that brings up another potential pitfall in bringing in Flowers: He’s got an extensive injury history. He spent time in 2020 on IR, missed time with a concussion in both 2019 and 2018, and the reason he only played in one game in 2015 was because of a shoulder injury.
FLOWERS AND THE DOLPHINS RUN DEFENSE
Flowers’ pass rush numbers and injury history aren’t encouraging, but he might be capable of helping the Dolphins' run defense.
He finished with 5.42 Points Saved, according to Sports Info Solutions, meaning the Lions’ run defense was performing well with Flowers on the field.
For reference, that ranks higher than Ogbah, who finished with 4.79 Points Saved, and Jaelen Phillips, who finished with 4.61 Points saved. That is not to say Flowers is outright better than either Ogbah or Phillips, but he could provide Miami with a better option in certain situations.
On film, Flowers is still powerful and capable of resetting the line of scrimmage. His ability to defend two gaps in the running game — something Miami wants their defensive linemen to do — is still strong thanks to his natural strength.
