Denver signs veteran safety Flowers

[Gunzlingr]

The Denver Broncos firmly believe in safety in numbers, a philosophy that became abundantly clear Monday when the club came to a one-year contract agreement with veteran free agent Lee Flowers.

At the very least, the move gives Denver's secondary an infusion of experience - Flowers has played eight NFL seasons, all with Pittsburgh, including the past five as a starter - yet also should foster competition at both positions on Denver's defensive back line.

A natural strong safety, the 30-year-old could end up challenging both of Denver's projected starters on deep patrol - strong safety Kenoy Kennedy and free safety Sam Brandon - once training camp commences in July.

"We're giving Lee a shot to come in here and battle both those guys," Broncos general manager Ted Sundquist said shortly after the agreement was forged.

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[The_Philster]

Outspoken Flowers arrives in Denver

Upon his arrival in Denver on Wednesday, Lee Flowers didn't want to say anything bad about his eight-year stay in Pittsburgh. But in true Flowers fashion, he just couldn't help himself.

"(Denver) is a great, rich history city. It's much like Pittsburgh, but much cleaner," said Flowers, who earlier this week signed a one-year, $655,000 Broncos contract that had no signing bonus, but some playing-time incentives. "No disrespect to Pittsburgh, but this is a very rich city. Walk around the (Broncos' training) complex and they've got a couple of Super Bowl (trophies) in here."

Flowers is gone from the Steelers' defense -- after five years as their starting strong safety -- because coaches felt he could no longer help them get to the Super Bowl. He was perceived to be a liability in pass coverage, and he was allowed to leave via free agency after a season in which the pass defense slipped to 20th in the NFL, an 11-year low. ...

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