Lethon Flowers

Lethon 'Lee' Flowers (born January 14, 1973) is an American former professional football player who was a safety for eight years in the National Football League (NFL) from 1995 to 2002, primarily with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was selected in the fifth round of the 1995 NFL draft. He played college football for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.

Early life Flowers was born in 1973. He played cornerback in college. 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.

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. 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.

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. In the 2002 season with the Steelers, he played 16 games and registered 58 tackles. He was not resigned.

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. The Broncos issued a statement that they knew Flowers would be suspended before they signed him. 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.

The 2003 season with the Broncos was his last in the NFL.

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

Playoffs Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles GP GS Comb Solo Ast Sck Int Yds TD Lng FF FR Yds TD 1995 PIT 3 0 1 1 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1996 PIT 2 0 1 1 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1997 PIT 2 0 2 2 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2001 PIT 2 2 13 7 6 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2002 PIT 2 2 21 15 6 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 Career 11 4 38 26 12 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0