Marquis Flowers (born February 16, 1992) is a former
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
linebacker
Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...
. He was drafted by the
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...
in the sixth round of the
2014 NFL Draft
The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New Y ...
. He played
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
at
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
. He also played for the
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
,
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...
, and
Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
.
High school career
Flowers was born in
Independence, Missouri
Independence is the fifth-largest city in Missouri and the county seat of Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson County. Independence is a satellite city of Kansas City, Missouri, and is the largest suburb on the Missouri side of the Kansas City metro ...
. He attended high school at
Millennium High School in
Goodyear, Arizona
Goodyear (O'odham: ''Valin Thak'') is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. It is a suburb of Phoenix and at the 2020 census had a population of 95,294, up from 65,275 in 2010 and 18,911 in 2000. It was the third-fastest-growing ci ...
, where he played running back, wide receiver, and free safety. He first played in 2007 as a sophomore, tallying 76 tackles, an interception and a fumble recovery. The following season, he played both on offense and defense, rushing for 932 yards and 8 touchdowns, as well as recording 6 receptions for 106 yards. He had 87 tackles on defense, as well as a sack, three interceptions, and another fumble recovery. He played in the
U.S. Army All-American Bowl in January 2010.
Flowers attracted interest from several colleges, notably
Notre Dame,
USC
USC most often refers to:
* University of South Carolina, a public research university
** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses
**South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program
* University of ...
,
UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
,
Arizona State University
Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...
, and the
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory.
T ...
, where he was recruited by
Tim Kish
Tim Kish (born July 1, 1954) is a retired American football coach. Kish previously served as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at the University of Arizona before being promoted to interim head coach upon the firing of head coach Mik ...
. Flowers signed his
letter of intent
A letter of intent (LOI or LoI, or Letter of Intent) is a document outlining the understanding between two or more parties which they intend to formalize in a contract, legally binding agreement. The concept is similar to a Heads of agreement ( ...
on January 9, 2010.
[
]
College career
Flowers played sparsely during the 2010 season, recording 11 tackles in 13 games, most of which came on special teams.
Flowers moved into the starting free safety position before the 2011 season. He played in all 13 games in the 2011 season, and recorded 68 tackles (fourth most on the team), as well as 3 passes defended and an interception.[
Flowers switched to outside linebacker during 2012 training camp.] Flowers transitioned well, and maintained relatively the same production that he had during his sophomore season. He finished the 2012 season with 100 tackles, 5.5 sacks, three interceptions, six passes defended, and three forced fumbles, one of which he recovered. Flowers was named the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week after Arizona's 39-35 win over USC, where he intercepted two passes and recorded a fumble. In the 2012 New Mexico Bowl
The 2012 Gildan New Mexico Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game that was held on December 15, 2012, at Dreamstyle Stadium, University Stadium on the campus of the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerq ...
against Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
, a 49-48 Arizona win, Flowers recovered a key onside kick that helped Arizona take a 1-point lead with 19 seconds to go. He then intercepted Nevada quarterback Cody Fajardo
Cody Michael Fajardo () (born March 29, 1992) is an American professional Canadian football quarterback for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Nevada and was their starting quarterback fro ...
on the next play, sealing an Arizona victory. For his performance, he was named the defensive most valuable player. Flowers rounded out his college career in 2013, in which he recorded 94 tackles, 1 sack and 1 interception, which he returned for a touchdown.
Professional career
Cincinnati Bengals
Flowers was drafted by the Bengals in the sixth round with the 212th overall selection in the 2014 NFL Draft
The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New Y ...
. He played in all 16 regular-season games as a rookie totaling eight tackles and one pass defended.
Flowers suffered a shoulder injury in the final preseason game in 2015 and was placed on injured reserve, missing the entire 2015 season. In 2016, Flowers final year with the Bengals, he again played in all 16 regular season games, and recorded eight solo tackles, and one fumble recovery.
New England Patriots
On August 29, 2017, Flowers was traded to the New England Patriots
The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
for a 2018 seventh round pick. Following injuries to Dont'a Hightower
Qualin Dont'a Hightower (born March 12, 1990) is an American football linebacker who is a free agent. He played college football at Alabama, receiving consensus All-American honors and winning two BCS National Championships. Hightower was selec ...
and Kyle Van Noy
Kyle Van Noy (born March 26, 1991) is an American football linebacker for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). Van Noy played college football at BYU was selected in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the Detroi ...
, Flowers saw his defensive snaps increase throughout the season after only being a core special teams player throughout his career. In Week 16, in his second start of the season, Flowers recorded a team-high 10 tackles and 2.5 sacks, in a 37-16 win over the Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...
. Flowers finished the season with 32 tackles and 3.5 sacks. In the playoffs, New England defeated both the Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...
and Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...
to reach Super Bowl LII
Super Bowl LII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2017 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion Philadelphia Eagles defeated the American Football Conferen ...
, but lost 33–41 to the Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...
with Flowers recording 1 tackle in the Super Bowl.
On March 22, 2018, Flowers signed a one-year deal to remain with the Patriots. On September 1, 2018, he was released by the Patriots.
Detroit Lions
On September 3, 2018, Flowers signed with the Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...
. He was released by the Lions on October 10.
Washington Redskins
Flowers signed with the Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
on December 26, 2018. He was waived on August 31, 2019.
Flowers was selected in the open phase of the 2020 XFL Draft
The 2020 XFL Draft was the inaugural player selection process to fill the rosters of the eight teams of the 2020 reboot of the XFL. The draft was held on October 15–16, 2019, via conference call, with results released through the XFL's social m ...
by the Dallas Renegades
The Arlington Renegades are a professional American football team based in Arlington, Texas. The team was founded as the Dallas Renegades by Vince McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment and is an owned-and-operated member of the new XFL owned by Dwayne ...
of the XFL
XFL may refer to:
Sports
* XFL (2001), a defunct American football league that played its only season in 2001
* XFL (2020), a professional American football league
Vehicles
* Bell XFL Airabonita, a 1940 U.S. Navy experimental interceptor aircra ...
, but declined to play in the league.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flowers, Marquis
1992 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Independence, Missouri
Players of American football from Phoenix, Arizona
American football linebackers
Arizona Wildcats football players
Cincinnati Bengals players
New England Patriots players
Detroit Lions players
Washington Redskins players