Seahawks reportedly releasing Tre Flowers, bring Blake Bortles in for workout

The 2-3 Seahawks are at a turning point in their 2021 NFL campaign, and they’re making waves entering Week 6.

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According to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, the Seahawks are set to release cornerback Tre Flowers in a move the fourth-year pro requested.

That’s not the only news coming out of team headquarters in Renton on Tuesday. They also brought in quarterback Blake Bortles for a workout, as reported by ESPN’s Field Yates.

Flowers, 26, was a fifth-round pick by Seattle out of Oklahoma State in 2018. He was moved from safety to cornerback by the Seahawks and started all 30 games he played in 2018 and 2019. He was down to seven starts in 12 games last season, however, and lost his starting job after three games this year. He has three career interceptions (all in 2019), 16 passes defensed, five forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries.

The visit with Bortles comes in the wake of star quarterback Russell Wilson’s finger surgery that will keep him out of action for four to eight weeks. It’s the first time since Wilson was drafted in 2011 that Seattle is going into a game with him unavailable. Geno Smith has been promoted from backup QB to starter in Wilson’s absence.

Bortles, 29, is best known for his time as the Jacksonville Jaguars starting quarterback – or to the less football-savvy, the many references to him on the NBC sitcom “The Good Place.” He quarterbacked the Jaguars to two playoff wins and an appearance in the AFC Championship in January 2018 but spent the past two seasons as a backup with the Los Angeles Rams. That means he has experience under first-year Seahawks offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, who came to Seattle after three years as the Rams’ passing game coordinator.

The Seahawks next play Sunday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Radio coverage on 710 ESPN Seattle and KIRO Radio 97.3 FM begins with the pregame show at 2 p.m., with kickoff set for 5:20 p.m.

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