Lethon Flowers
American football player (born 1973)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lethon 'Lee' Flowers (born January 14, 1973) is an American former professional football safety who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers most of his eight years in the National Football League (NFL) from 1995 to 2002. He was selected in the fifth round of the 1995 NFL draft.[1] He played college football for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.[2]
Columbia, South Carolina, U.S.
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| No. 41 | |||||||||
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| Position | Safety | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | January 14, 1973 Columbia, South Carolina, U.S. | ||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||
| Listed weight | 213 lb (97 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Spring Valley (Columbia) | ||||||||
| College | Georgia Tech | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 1995: 5th round, 151st overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Life and career
Flowers was born in 1973.[3] At age 14, he spent three months in intensive care after a ruptured appendix, and came close to dying.[4]
He played for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket for the 1991 season.[5] He played cornerback in college at Georgia Tech.[4]
Steelers
In 1995, he was a fifth-round pick for the NFL draft, joining the Pittsburgh Steelers.[4] In October 1996, he was one of 35 NFL players handed fines from a game involving the Steelers and Houston Oilers, after a series of fights broke out on the field.[6]
In 1996, for the Steelers, he had 30 special teams tackles that season. In 1997, he was special teams captain for the Steelers, although he missed six weeks due to a sprained knee.[3] He signed to a one-year contract in June 1998 with the Steelers.[7] He played as a starter for the Steelers in 1998, and "finished as the Steelers' second-leading tackler with 117 total stops, including 94 solo tackles." The Pittsburgh Steelers re-signed Flowers to a multi-year contract in February 1999. The deal for four years was reportedly worth $10 million.[3]
During his eight year NFL career with the Steelers, he spent his first three years largely playing on special teams, moving into the starting lineup in 1998.[8] In the 2002 season with the Steelers, he played 16 games and registered 58 tackles. He was not resigned.[9]
Broncos
Flowers was signed by the Denver Broncos in June 2003.[9]
In June 2003, it was announced he'd been suspended without pay for the first four games of the regular season, for violating the NFL's steroid policy. He had a one year deal with the club, and could still participate in training camp and preseason games.[10] The Broncos issued a statement that they knew Flowers would be suspended before they signed him.[11] Flowers said he tested positive for the over-the-counter stimulant ephedra, stemming from a vitamin he'd taken in December without knowing its content. Ephedra had been banned by the NFL since 2001, after the death of Korey Stringer. Flowers said he appealed the suspension in June, but lost a hearing.[12]
The 2003 season with the Broncos was his last in the NFL.[13]
NFL career statistics
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Bold | Career high |
Regular season
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Comb | Solo | Ast | Sck | Int | Yds | TD | Lng | FF | FR | Yds | TD | ||
| 1995 | PIT | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1996 | PIT | 16 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1997 | PIT | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1998 | PIT | 16 | 16 | 101 | 78 | 23 | 1.0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1999 | PIT | 15 | 15 | 79 | 64 | 15 | 5.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2000 | PIT | 14 | 14 | 85 | 61 | 24 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2001 | PIT | 15 | 15 | 61 | 48 | 13 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2002 | PIT | 16 | 15 | 73 | 52 | 21 | 4.0 | 2 | 31 | 0 | 25 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Career | 112 | 75 | 403 | 307 | 96 | 12.0 | 4 | 33 | 0 | 25 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 0 | |