Should Patriots bring back Trey Flowers after Lions release him?

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The New England Patriots would be wise to upgrade their pass rush before the 2022 NFL season, and turning to a familiar face might be among the best possible moves to accomplish that objective.

Trey Flowers reportedly will be released by the Detroit Lions next week as the free agent market opens.

Flowers spent the first three seasons of his career with the Patriots and played a key role on a defense that held the Los Angeles Rams to three points in a Super Bowl LIII victory during the 2018 season.

A month after that Super Bowl win, Flowers left the Patriots to sign a five-year, $90 million contract in free agency.

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Flowers played well in his first season with the Lions, tallying seven sacks and two forced fumbles in 15 games. But the last two years have been difficult as injuries limited him to just seven games played in both the 2020 and 2021 campaigns.

If healthy, bringing back Flowers on a one-year, prove-it-to-me kind of deal makes a lot of sense for the Patriots. He obviously knows the system, and his former head coach in Detroit -- Matt Patricia -- is back in New England.

We've seen plenty of former Patriots players come back to New England in recent years, including Jamie Collins, Kyle Van Noy, Trent Brown, etc. The Patriots should address their pass rush in the upcoming draft, but adding a veteran presence like Flowers wouldn't hurt, either.

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