Patriots not expected to franchise tag Trey Flowers, Stephen Gostkowski

March 5 (UPI) -- The New England Patriots are not expected to apply a franchise tag to veteran defensive end Trey Flowers or kicker Stephen Gostkowski.

Sources told ESPN and NFL Network that the Super Bowl champions are unlikely to use the tag on Gostkowski. Sources told NBC Sports Boston and ESPN that the team also won't apply the tag to Flowers or offensive tackle Trent Brown, in addition to the kicker.

Gostkowski, 35, was a fourth-round pick by the Patriots in the 2006 NFL Draft. The four-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro has won three Super Bowls with New England. Gostkowski made 84.4 percent of his kicks in 16 games last season. He has played all 16 games in every season, other than the 2010 season when he missed eight contests.

Flowers, 25, was a fourth-round pick by the Patriots in the 2015 NFL Draft. The two-time Super Bowl champion had 57 tackles and a career-best 7.5 sacks in 15 starts in 2018.

Brown, 25, was a seventh-round pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. The 6-foot-8, 380-pound tackle started all 16 games last season for the Patriots after playing the first three seasons of his career for the San Francisco 49ers.

The Patriots acquired Brown via trade in April.

Brown, Flowers and Gostkowski are now set to hit the market as free agents when the new league year begins on March 13. The franchise tag deadline is 4 p.m. Tuesday. Flowers' franchise tag number was $17.1 million, while Brown's came in at $14.06 million and Gostkowski's at $5.9 million