Brandon Flowers retires as rare bright spot in dark times for the Chiefs
Brandon Flowers will reportedly retire on Tuesday. For Chiefs fans, he will always be a bright spot during some frustrating years.
He was too short, he wasn’t fast enough, and he was known to get beat by the double move. But to Kansas City Chiefs’ fans, Brandon Flowers was the guy who went toe-to-toe with Andre Johnson, the player who shut down an entire side of the field.
Flowers was the second round pick in the 2008 draft—a draft that may be the best draft class the Chiefs have ever had. That class gave the Chiefs their starting left tackle, two starting cornerbacks and the Chiefs’ all-time leading rusher.
The two-time All-American from Virginia Tech was taken with the fourth pick in the second round of the draft and was the sixth corner taken off the board. Flowers was drafted after Aquib Talib, Leodis McKelvin, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Mike Jenkins and Antoine Cason. Only Talib and Cromartie have had a better career than Flowers.
The 2007 Chiefs were the oldest team in football and 2008 was the year they were going to get younger. This meant that rookies (like Flowers) were going to play a lot in their rookie campaigns. The Chiefs went 2-14 that season, but Flowers showed his potential. The Chiefs lost eight games by eight points or less and Flowers finished second on the team with two interceptions.
Flowers had his best season as a pro in year two with five interceptions, 23 passes defended and 65 tackles.
Flowers continued to be one of the better and most underrated corners in the league. In his time as a Chief, Flowers tallied 17 interceptions and a Chiefs’ record, 92 passes defended. In six years, Flowers saw the playoffs just two times as a Chief. He was twice a part of teams that won just two total games.
In 2011, Flowers signed a $50 million extension with the Chiefs with Scott Pioli as general manager. At the time, it was thought that the deal would make him a Chief for the remainder of his career. But after spending one year with Andy Reid, the Chiefs’ front office, now under John Dorsey, decided that Flowers was not a good fit for Bob Sutton’s defense.
For much of his career, Flowers was one of the few bright spots in what was one of the worst eras that I have ever witnessed as a Chiefs fan.
Watching Flowers pushed out the door was hard to watch. For much of his career, Flowers was one of the few bright spots in what was one of the worst eras that I have ever witnessed as a Chiefs fan.
Flowers then had his choice of any team and he chose to finish his career with the San Diego Chargers. Flowers, still not pleased with his release, said that he chose the Chargers so that he had the opportunity to beat the Chiefs. The Chargers have not beaten the Chiefs since.
His words will live with Kansas City fans for a while, much like Jamaal. But 10 years from now that pain and anger will go away and fans will remember Brandon for what he did on the field in his time as a Chief. His passion and ability to compete with the best wide receivers in the NFL will be what we remember. Only then will we truly be able to appreciate just how great Brandon Flowers was.
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