Giants reportedly planning to cut or trade 2015 first-round pick Ereck Flowers

Flowers will likely be leaving the Big Apple by the end of the week

By John Breech

Oct 8, 2018 at 4:36 pm ET • 1 min read

The 2018 season has just gone from bad to worse for Giants' offensive lineman Ereck Flowers.

According to ESPN.com, the Giants have finally decided to give up on Flowers, with the team planning to cut or release him by 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday. The decision to get rid of Flowers comes less than three weeks after the offensive lineman was benched by Giants coach Pat Shurmur.

Flowers began the season as the Giants' starting right tackle, but ended up losing his job after opening the season with rough outings against the Jaguars in Week 1 and the Cowboys in Week 2. Heading into Week 3, Shurmur decided to bench Flowers and give his job to Chad Wheeler, who originally signed with the Giants as an undrafted free agent last year.

The 2018 season has represented a dramatic fall from grace for Flowers, who was selected with the ninth-overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. During his first three seasons with the Giants, Flowers served as the team's left tackle, starting in 46 of a possible 48 regular-season games. During that span, the Giants' offensive line struggled often and Flowers was a big reason why.

After giving Flowers every chance to succeed during his first three seasons, the Giants finally made the decision to move him from left tackle prior to the start of the 2018 season. In his place, the Giants brought in Nate Solder, who was signed to a four-year, $62 million deal in March.

Flowers was so unhappy with the signing that he skipped parts of minicamp. With Solder at left tackle, the Giants had Flowers move to right tackle, which is where he was playing until he was benched prior to Week 3.

The good news for Flowers is that he'll likely be a hot commodity if the Giants end up releasing him. The fact of the matter is that healthy offensive lineman don't usually become available in the middle of the season, which could make him a popular free agent. The Giants could also end up trading him, but it's hard to imagine any team giving up anything substantial, especially if they know the Giants are eventually going to release him.