ALLEN PARK -- The free-agent EDGE class was decimated by the franchise tag. But not everyone was protected.

Trey Flowers will not receive the tag, according to ESPN, and is expected to test free agency when the market opens on March 13. That’s big news for a team like the Lions, which is desperate for EDGE help but watched top talents like Dee Ford, Frank Clark, DeMarcus Lawrence and Jadeveon Clowney all draw the tag this week.

Detroit did sign defensive end Romeo Okwara, a restricted free agent, to a new two-year deal last week. But that’s not nearly enough firepower for a team that pressured opposing quarterbacks less often than everyone except the Raiders last year, and now could lose Ezekiel Ansah in free agency.

Ansah hasn’t been healthy for three years, but remained Detroit’s best talent at the position when he was healthy. He pressured opposing quarterbacks more often than any other edge player in the league last year. But he also started just twice because of knee and shoulder problems, and played 14.8 percent of Detroit’s defensive snaps overall.

Detroit needs help on the edge. Flowers is expected to be the top edge player available. And he also spent the first three seasons of his career breaking out in Matt Patricia’s defense. The fit makes a whole lot of sense. The biggest question is money. With so few elite talents hitting the open waters, the price for Flowers’ services could surge. The South Florida Sun-Sentinel is reporting it will take $14 to $17 million annually to land Flowers.

The Lions are sitting on about $33 million in cap space, pending whatever happens with Pro Bowl guard T.J. Lang.