According to a source, the Lions have told Flowers that he will be released next week when the league year starts.
The news was reported by the Detroit Free Press.
In a Thursday post, Flowers wrote that he was truly grateful for the love and lessons.
The Lions made Flowers one of the richest defensive players in football with a $90 million deal over five years with $56 million guaranteed, but he couldn't stay healthy over the past two seasons.
He was on the injured reserve list for the 2020 and 2021 seasons and only had 3.5 sacks. He had seven sacks in his first season with the Lions.
The original deal was signed by former Lions coach MattPatricia, who was familiar with Flowers from their time with New England. The new regime is headed by general manager Brad Holmes and coach Dan Campbell.
At least $10 million in salary-cap space will be freed up after Detroit releases Flowers. There was a cap hit of $23.2 million for Flowers.
You are talking about the ultimate glue guy. The ultimate leader. He is what we are all about in terms of resilience and being just a football player, so it was unfortunate when he had to leave. Again, those discussions are going to happen down the road.
The ultimate professional who was active in the Detroit community, Flowers was committed to criminal justice reform and spoke out against mass incarceration.
He had 21 sacks in four seasons in New England after being selected by the Pats with the second pick in the fourth round.
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