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Earlier today, it was announced that the Kansas City Chiefs had released CB Brandon Flowers. The same Brandon Flowers that went to his first Pro Bowl last season and, at 28 years old, is in the prime of his career. The Chiefs had signed Flowers to a 5-year deal worth $50 million in 2011.
A few hundred (thousand?) miles north, the Detroit Lions parted ways with CB Chris Houston. One year ago, the team signed Houston to a 5-year deal worth $25 million. Apparently, Houston recently had major surgery on his big toe and there are questions about whether he'll ever be the same player he once was.
According to Pro Football Focus, Flowers and Houston were the 87th and 96th best CBs in the league least year (among those that played at least 25% of their team's defensive snaps). That being said, Flowers has been a solid player for a few years and was an important part of one of the league's top defenses last year. The Chargers should probably be interested in him.
As things stand now, the Chargers have about $2.67 million to spend on a free agent, but that's if Tom Telesco wants to spend every dime the team can against the cap before the season even starts (which he does not want to do). That would be a significant pay cut for either man.
Until you see news about the Chargers cutting some of the highest paid players to make cap space, just assume that they've already been priced out of the Brandon Flowers market. As for Chris Houston, he'll need to prove he's healthy before any NFL team will take his phone call.