Report: Patriots Won't Use Franchise Tag, Sending Flowers, Gostkowski And Brown To Free Agency
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Patriots won't be using their franchise tag this year.
About an hour before the 4 p.m. deadline, ESPN's Field Yates and Adam Schefter reported that the team will not be applying the tag on any of their impending free agents. As a result, Trey Flowers, Stephen Gostkowski, and Trent Brown will all become free agents.
The Patriots are not expected to apply the franchise tag to any of their three notable free agents - DE Trey Flowers, OT Trent Brown & K Stephen Gostkowski - league sources tell @AdamSchefter & me. Now, they are each just over a week away from becoming a free agent.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) March 5, 2019
Flowers, 25, was drafted by the Patriots in the fourth round of the 2015 NFL draft out of Arkansas. He played in just one game as a rookie but has since developed into a crucial member of the New England defense.
He recorded seven sacks and 14 QB hits in 2016, 6.5 sacks and 25 QB hits in 2017, and 7.5 sacks and 20 QB hits in 2018. He also has 5.5 sacks in nine playoff games, including 2.5 sacks of Matt Ryan to help the Patriots in their 28-3 comeback over the Falcons in Super Bowl LI and a sack of Patrick Mahomes in this past season's AFC title game to force the Chiefs out of field-goal range before halftime.
With Jadeveon Clowney (Houston), DeMarcus Lawrence (Dallas), Frank Clark (Seattle) and Dee Ford (Kansas City) all getting hit with the franchise tag in recent days, Flowers is set to become by far the most sought-after free-agent defensive end on the market.
FRANCHISE TAGS USED DURING BILL BELICHICK'S TENURE
2002: Adam Vinatieri, kicker
2003: Tebucky Jones, safety
2005: Adam Vinatieri, kicker
2007: Asante Samuel, cornerback
2009: Matt Cassel, quarterback
2010: Vince Wilfork, defensive tackle
2011: Logan Mankins, guard
2012: Wes Welker, wide receiver
2015: Stephen Gostkowski, kicker
Gostkowski, 35, was drafted by the Patriots in the 2006 draft. He is the Patriots' all-time leader in field goals made, and he owns the third-best field goal percentage in NFL history.
Franchise tag number for DE Trey Flowers was $17.1 million, for OT Trent Brown $14.06 million and K Stephen Gostkowski $5.9 million. Patriots' actions reflect they deemed that too rich. Standard operating procedure for club is to keep dialogue open with players as market evolves.
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) March 5, 2019
Brown, 25, was acquired by the Patriots along with a fifth-round pick in exchange for a third-round pick last year. He played all 16 regular-season games and all three playoff games at left tackle for the Patriots, taking 97.32 percent of the team's offensive snaps.