New England Patriots free agency 2019: Top 5 targets

FOXBOROUGH, MA - JANUARY 24: New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick gives a press conference ahead of New England Patriots practice at the Gillette Stadium practice facility in Foxborough, MA on Jan. 24, 2019. (Photo by Barry Chin/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) /

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4. Trey Flowers, EDGE/DL

Trey Flowers has stepped up in a huge way since the postseason started. He’s had sacks on Patrick Mahomes and Philip Rivers in both the Patriots playoff games. He had a really good end of the season, with 10 total tackles in the last two weeks. Flowers led the team with 7.5 sacks. Obviously, that isn’t an amazing number, but it was the best number on the Patriots.

This team’s pass rush needs to get better, but that’s not possible if the team moves on from its best pass rusher. He was also the team leader in tackles for loss. He had 12, while Kyle Van Noy was second on the team with eight. Re-signing Flowers should be the top priority for the Patriots.

The big question here is what is Flowers going to cost? The 25-year-old Flowers is set to make a huge raise. His rookie contract paid him $1.9 million this past season. He’s going to make a lot more than that. Again, he led the team in sacks and tackles for loss. He delivered in a big way in the postseason, and the Patriots need to pay the man. He will likely cost somewhere in the $8-10 million range, but the Patriots could easily afford that and more with some roster flexibility. Flowers is an essential part of this defense, and the Patriots need to bring him back by any means necessary.

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