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According to Jim Owczarski of The Enquirer on Cincinnati.com, the Patriots have sent a 2018 seventh-round pick to the Bengals to acquire linebacker Marquis Flowers.
BREAKING: #Bengals trade LB Marquis Flowers to #Pariots https://t.co/MZzIDqVXoR pic.twitter.com/ph007kUJye
— Jim Owczarski (@JimOwczarski) August 29, 2017
Flowers, at 6’2” and 230 pounds, primarily a special teams contributor, and was considered to be a player squarely on the roster bubble in Cincinnati.
Flowers is entering his fourth NFL season after having been selected in the sixth round of the 2014 draft out of the University of Arizona. He entered college as a free safety and transitioned to outside linebacker during his junior season.
As a professional, Flowers was active for all 16 games in his rookie season. He missed all of 2015 with a season-ending shoulder injury in the Bengals’ final preseason contest. He was once again active for all 16 games last season.
The addition of another special teams linebacker clearly does not bode well for players like Jonathan Freeny and Trevor Bates.
From a salary cap perspective, Flowers’ $690,000 salary will count as a top-51 contract on the Patriots’ cap, and will cost the team $75,000 in cap space.