Trey Flowers

The New England Patriots selected Flowers in the fourth round (101st overall) of the 2015 NFL Draft. The pick used to draft him was acquired from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers along with tight end Tim Wright in exchange for Logan Mankins.[14] In the first preseason game against the Green Bay Packers, Flowers sacked Aaron Rodgers but later left the game with a shoulder injury.[15] Flowers made the Patriots 53-man roster but was only active for one game before being placed on injured reserve on December 1, 2015.[16]

After missing most of his rookie season due to injury, Flowers experienced a breakout season in 2016. In Week 8 against the Buffalo Bills, Flowers got his first two NFL sacks on quarterbacks Tyrod Taylor and EJ Manuel while tacking on five tackles.[17] He played in all 16 regular season games starting in the final eight, finishing the season leading the team in sacks with 7.0, all coming in the last nine games of the season. He led the team with 2.5 sacks in the Patriots win in Super Bowl LI over the Atlanta Falcons on February 5, 2017.[18] These included the crucial second down sack with 3:55 to go in the fourth quarter that helped push the Falcons out of field goal range, allowing the Patriots to tie the game on the following possession, completing their 25-point comeback.[19]

After a breakout season in 2016, Flowers began the way he ended the previous season, recording 2.0 sacks in the season opener against the Kansas City Chiefs on September 7.[20] Despite suffering a rib injury Week 12 against the Miami Dolphins, Flowers started 14 games and led the team with 6.5 sacks. Flowers helped the Patriots reach Super Bowl LII, but the team lost 41-33 to the Philadelphia Eagles with Flowers recording 5 tackles in the Super Bowl.

During Week 1 against the Houston Texans, Flowers had 5 tackles and 1.5 sacks. In the next game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, he forced a fumble but was later was ruled out of the game after suffering a concussion. Flowers finished the season with 57 tackles, 7.5 sacks, and 3 forced fumbles. The Patriots beat both the Los Angeles Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs to reach Super Bowl LIII where they defeated the Los Angeles Rams 13-3. Flowers had 3 tackles in the game.[21]

On March 14, 2019, Flowers signed a five-year, $90 million deal with the Detroit Lions.[22][23] The signing reunited Flowers with former Patriots wide receiver Danny Amendola, who signed with the Lions three days earlier, alongside former defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, who became the Lions' head coach in the prior season. In week 3 against the Philadelphia Eagles, Flowers recorded a team high 8 tackles and sacked Carson Wentz once as the Lions won 27-24.[24] In a week 6 game on October 14, 2019, Flowers was called for two controversial and costly hands to the face penalties on Monday Night Football in a 22-23 loss to the Green Bay Packers.[25] In week 8 against the New York Giants, Flowers recorded a season high 2 sacks on Daniel Jones in the 31-26 win.[26]

In Week 1 against the Chicago Bears, Flowers recorded his first sack of the season on Mitchell Trubisky during the 27–23 loss.[27] In Week 6 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Flowers recorded a strip sack on Gardner Minshew which was recovered by the Lions during the 34–16 win.[28] Flowers was placed on injured reserve on November 2 after suffering an injury in Week 8.[29]