The New England Patriots decided not to place the franchise tag on defensive end Trey Flowers, and apparently will take a passive approach with the stud edge defender, likely allowing him to test free agency before they begin negotiations. It’s becoming a common practice for New England as they manage potentially departing stars.
Flowers will follow in the footsteps of left tackle Nate Solder, linebacker Dont’a Hightower and safety Devin McCourty. New England wanted Solder, Hightower and McCourty to return, but they didn’t rush into negotiations, instead letting the players search for a market. Once the players received an offer, the Patriots would mull that offer and consider matching it. This method is successful because the players all want to return to New England, and Flowers seems no different. Other teams, who don’t have New England’s track record, may not be successful with the same process.
With that in mind, it’s unlikely — though possible — that the Patriots will agree to a deal with Flowers between now and March 11 when the tampering period for 2019 free agency opens. At that point, the Patriots will surely keep in close contact with Flowers to try to coax him to stay in New England. But as we saw with Solder, the offers can exceed the Patriots’ spending limits. At that point, they have to be comfortable with seeing the free agent depart.
