Trey Flowers to return to Patriots

The New England Patriots have signed defensive end Trey Flowers, the team announced in a Tuesday release. 

Flowers, a former fourth-round pick for New England, won two Super Bowls with the Patriots in 2016 and 2018. After spending four seasons in New England, the former Arkansas Razorback signed a five-year, $90 million contract with the Lions. He played in four games for the Miami Dolphins in 2022, earning four combined tackles and one quarterback hit.

Flowers was placed on the active/PUP list on Tuesday, according to a tweet from NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero. He can be activated anytime, Pelissero wrote.

Once activated, Flowers can be a solid returning option for a Patriots' defense that took eighth place in the NFL with a Pro Football Focus rating of 75.8. New England's defense features a few key returning players, including linebacker Ja'Whaun Bentley and cornerback Jonathan Jones. Safety Devin McCourty announced his retirement in March.

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick highlighted Flowers's ability to work hard on Tuesday, a quality that can make him a valuable part of any defense.

"Look, I haven't seen Trey in a few years, but he's been a hardworking guy, loves football, competes well, smart player," Belichick said, via Patriots.com.

Flowers can only add to a New England defense that proved to have one of the league's more reliable pass-rushing units. They earned a Pro Football Focus pass-rush rating of 73.5 during the 2022 regular season, putting them at 11th in the NFL. Their 54 total sacks put them on pace with the Dallas Cowboys and at about third place in the league.

"He hasn't played in a while, got injured in September of last year, so yeah, we'll see," Belichick said on what Flowers can add to the team on Tuesday, via Patriots.com.

The Patriots will kick off against the Houston Texans at 7 p.m. EDT on Thursday in Gillette Stadium.