Veteran defensive end Trey Flowers won two Super Bowls during his first stint with the New England ... [+]
A member of the latest New England Patriots All-Decade team has returned following four years elsewhere.
The organization announced the signing of veteran defensive end Trey Flowers on Tuesday, as NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport first reported.
Flowers, who turns 30 midway through August, visited Gillette Stadium for a workout to begin the week. He was previously hosted by New England as unrestricted free agency opened in March.
The 2015 fourth-round draft choice out of Arkansas won two Super Bowls during his initial stop in the league while making 46 starts through 55 appearances. From the regular seasons into the postseasons, Flowers totaled 203 tackles and 26.5 sacks, including 2.5 sacks in the 28-3 February comeback over the Atlanta Falcons.
Added by the former No. 101 overall pick, who checked into one game as a rookie due to injury, were five forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
Balanced against the run and the pass, Flowers departed for the Detroit Lions on a five-year, $90 million contract featuring $56 million guaranteed as the calendar turned to 2019. He was released last March after being limited to 27 starts over 29 appearances, however, totaling 10.5 sacks with an additional five forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
Both the 2020 and 2021 campaigns ended on injured reserve for Flowers, who signed a one-year deal with the Miami Dolphins to conclude training camp last summer. He logged four tackles through four games while on the other side of the AFC East, and was placed on injured reserve with a foot injury last fall after handling 65 defensive snaps.
Flowers had remained unsigned since the new league year began. The 6-foot-2, 265-pound bookend now fills a vacant spot on the 90-man roster in Foxborough, where the outside is occupied by the recently restructured Matthew Judon and the final year of Josh Uche’s rookie deal.
In 2022, New England’s top edge-rushing tandem combined for 27 sacks as well as four forced fumbles. The defensive line depth also moves forward with the inside-outside scheme versatility of team captain Deatrich Wise Jr. and rookie second-round pick Keion White.
And Flowers, who wore No. 98 for the team in the past, moves forward with No. 58.
“Roster addition — added Trey,” head coach Bill Belichick told reporters ahead of Tuesday’s training camp practice. “We’ll see how that goes. He won’t be practicing right away.”
The Patriots open the preseason at home Thursday versus the Houston Texans. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET.
