NFL Rumors: Vikings Inquire About Brandon Flowers
By Dan Zinski
The Kansas City Chiefs on Friday parted ways with Pro Bowl cornerback Brandon Flowers, in a move believed to be largely money-related. According to Warpaint Illustrated, the Minnesota Vikings were among three teams that inquired about Flowers in the hours immediately after his release. The Lions and Falcons are the other two teams mentioned in the report.
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The 5-9 Flowers made his first Pro Bowl in 2013, but analysts believe he was heavily overrated last season. Pro Football Focus rated him as just the 87th best corner in the NFL after ranking him 7th in 2012.
The reason for Flowers’ precipitous decline? A switch-over to a press-man scheme under new Chiefs defensive coordinator Bob Sutton. The undersized Flowers is seen as more of a finesse player than a physical press corner, and he struggled in Sutton’s defense.
The Vikings will likely be employing more press coverage under new head coach Mike Zimmer and defensive coordinator George Edwards.
Flowers was mainly a slot corner by the end of his run in Kansas City, but the Vikings are set at #1 slot corner after the acquisition of Captain Munnerlyn. However, depth behind Munnerlyn could be a concern.
Minnesota has the cap space to add Flowers if they wish, and could certainly use some more experienced cornerbacks in the mix. Behind Munnerlyn and second-year man Xavier Rhodes, the Vikings depth chart features big question marks, from retread Derek Cox to 2013 goat Josh Robinson to role players Marcus Sherels, Shaun Prater and Julian Posey.
The Vikings also have a pair of rookie corners in Kendall James and Jabari Price.
Minnesota’s eagerness to inquire about Flowers – if the report cited above is indeed accurate – would tend to indicate a lack of confidence in the current stable of cornerbacks.
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