Brandon Flowers released by Kansas City Chiefs after failed trade inquiries

Two weeks, the Kansas City Chiefs began their off-season training activities without one of their more high-profile players in cornerback Brandon Flowers, and from that moment on, the writing was on the wall for the highly-paid defensive back. On Friday, the organization announced that they have released Flowers from his contract.

As noted by multiple outlets, the Chiefs stand to save as much as $14 million by cutting the 28-year-old Flowers, and that appears to be the impetus behind this decision. The former Virginia Tech standout has spent his entire six-year career with Kansas City, but rumors began to swirl in May that the club was looking to move him via trade, and when the market seemingly dried up, the Chiefs were forced to cut bait despite his $50 million contract that included $22 million in guaranteed money.

There will surely be a significant amount of interest surrounding a player with Flowers’ combination of talent and experience, and while he only played in 13 games during the 2013 campaign, the 5-foot-10 cornerback has also been exceedingly durable. It isn’t every day that a Pro Bowl cornerback is released the off-season directly following that honor, but that is now the case with Brandon Flowers.

Earlier in the off-season, Flowers was rumored to be linked to a trio of teams that included the Indianapolis Colts, Houston Texans and Tennessee Titans, and there will almost assuredly be an increase in interest around the league. From the moment he was released on Friday, Brandon Flowers became the best cornerback on the market, and with the recently released Chris Houston alongside him in availability, teams with needs at the back end of their defense could be in luck.