One is making his name in tackle football, the other in soccer: Meet the Flowers brothers

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Football is a family affair for the Flowers brothers. They just differ on the definition.

Aaron Flowers plays American football for No. 2 Oregon, while younger brother Benji was developed by the vaunted FC Dallas soccer academy and just signed a deal with Chelsea.

Benji, now 15, will join the Premier League team when he turns 18. Until then, he'll continue to work on his game in Texas. He became the youngest player to sign a professional contract with the senior team as a homegrown player in late July.

Benji jokes that he wasn't cut out for his big brother's brand of football.

“Well, he was way bigger than me, and also I think that he could take hits more, way more than me, and he was like twice my weight, twice my height, like around my age. So I think that’s probably why my parents thought it was like really dangerous for me," Benji Flowers said. ”So they put him in it, and they told me to stick with soccer."

Aaron, meanwhile, ultimately chose the other football. A four-star safety out of Forney, Texas, where the brothers grew up, Aaron went with Oregon over USC, Baylor, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Alabama.

“So I played soccer as well growing up when I was younger. But then I got bigger and I was too physical and getting red cards. So I stopped playing,” Aaron said. “But my little brother, I mean, he played soccer. He wasn’t as big as I was, obviously, he was shorter. So then my parents were too scared to put him in football, and he just blossomed and then became really good at soccer."

With the Dallas academy since he was 10, Benji made his debut with Dallas' MLS Next Pro team, North Texas SC, this year. The Dallas academy has previously produced such U.S. stars as Ricardo Pepi and Weston McKennie, who were both on the roster for this summer's World Cup.

Benji Flowers knew he wanted to make soccer a career well before he joined the academy.

“When I first started playing, at that point I was just playing for fun, and then around the age of like, I’ll say 6 is when I made my dream that I want to be pro, and I want to make this my living," he said. "So, yeah, that’s when I really started taking stuff seriously.”

Chelsea's fee for Benji is a reported $3 million, but add-ons could take it to $10 million.

MLS Commissioner Don Garber told The Associated Press that the contract with Chelsea shows the league's push to build up its academy system is paying off.

“It’s probably the single-biggest validation of our player-development programs in recent memory, and I’m really excited about it, and I’m proud of it because we’ve been working for a long time and spending enormous resources in improving the player-development programs at our clubs,” Garber said.

Flowers is also a prospect for the U.S. national team. He has played for the U.S. under-15 team and has scored two goals in three appearances this year.

“Benji has embraced every step of that journey through hard work, determination and the support of his family,” FC Dallas President Dan Hunt said in a statement. “His signing is a reflection of the tremendous work being done throughout the FC Dallas Academy and reinforces what is possible for the next generation of players.

Aaron, who also ran track in high school, utilized a redshirt after appearing in two games for Oregon during the 2024 season. He broke out in 2025, starting in all 15 games for the Ducks as they made a run to the national semifinals. He ranked third on Oregon's defense with 70 total tackles, including 37 solo.

Last season, Aaron Flowers was paired with safety Dillon Thieneman, now with the Chicago Bears. This season, he'll likely start in tandem with Koi Perich, a transfer from Minnesota.

Oregon went 13-2 last season, with the losses coming to Fernando Mendoza-led Indiana — once in the regular season then again in a College Football Playoff semifinal.

Aaron said he's sure Benji will be watching the Ducks, who aspire to reach the playoffs again, from afar. And of course, as a proud older brother, he'll be following Benji's career.

"I already knew he was really good," Flowers said. “When I came back home, he scored five goals in one game. I was like, ‘Oh yeah, this dude’s going pro.’ And then just seeing it happen just really made me proud, and just happy to see that for him.”

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Benji Flowers gestures during a FC Dallas Academy soccer training session in Frisco, Texas, Friday, Aug. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Benji Flowers, left, stretches during a FC Dallas Academy soccer training session in Frisco, Texas, Friday, Aug. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

FILE - Oregon defensive back Aaron Flowers (21) gets set for a play during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Iowa, Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, in Iowa City, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)

Benji Flowers plays in a scrimmage during a FC Dallas Academy soccer training session in Frisco, Texas, Friday, Aug. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

FILE - Oregon defensive back Aaron Flowers (21) reaches for an incomplete pass during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Iowa, Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, in Iowa City, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Although the Los Angeles Rams are running awfully low on healthy wide receivers, coach Sean McVay said they didn't acquire one at the trade deadline in part because they're optimistic about Davante Adams returning “sooner than later.”

With Puka Nacua and Jordan Whittington joining Adams on the sideline with significant injuries this week, the receiver group on the Rams' 53-man roster is down to a recent seventh-round pick, two veterans who have been cast aside and retrieved by Los Angeles this year, and a rookie who has yet to catch a pass.

It's not exactly the ideal scenario for McVay, Matthew Stafford and the Rams to keep a three-game winning streak going.

But after examining the trade market this week and finding it much too rich for their taste, the Rams (5-4) will try to stay afloat somehow until their injured receivers can get back in uniform — not before December, however.

“We've had a lot of unique things in terms of managing the (roster) and the practice squad,” McVay said Wednesday. “This is as much as I can remember with the roster mechanics, just because it's different than previous years, when you've had a high volume (of injuries) in certain positions. We've just had a lot of different things across the board at a number of spots.”

No spot is currently in worse shape than wide receiver, but the Rams decided not to swing a deal for a replacement at Tuesday's trade deadline.

“It takes two, and you've got to be able to see what you're willing to give (for) what's out there,” McVay said.

The Rams' decision was affected by their optimism about Adams, who has been on injured reserve since he strained his hamstring on the penultimate snap of LA's embarrassing loss to Arizona last month, missing three games.

McVay says the Rams are optimistic Adams will miss only two more games before returning against Kansas City on Dec. 3, calling it “a realistic timeline for us.”

The Rams visit the Cardinals on Sunday before their mini-bye week is followed by a visit from the Green Bay Packers on Thanksgiving Eve.

Although Stafford will be throwing to receivers who catch more balls from backup QBs Stetson Bennett and Ty Simpson during practice, the NFL MVP said he welcomes the challenge of winning without his two biggest targets.

“Obviously there are not as many snaps that I have with those guys that are going to be playing (this week) than Puka and Davante that I’ve accrued over the years,” Stafford said. “But I still throw to those guys every single day in practice and have a ton of trust in what they can do. ... With those guys, I trust the route-running techniques that they have. Trust them to go out there and make plays, because these guys are here for a reason. I’m excited for their opportunity.”

Whittington went on injured reserve this week with his back injury, but the Rams aren’t putting Nacua on IR because they’re running low on the eight spots available for players who intend to return this season. The All-Pro wideout, who injured his knee on the final offensive snap of last Sunday’s win at Washington, will be out for “an extended period of time” McVay said.

Nacua has carried the Rams' passing game this season, making 70 of their 120 catches by wide receivers. His 70 receptions are the most in NFL history by a player in his first seven games of a season — and when Nacua was injured for two games in September, Adams stepped up with a series of big plays.

The Rams’ current plight is even worse because of the lengthy absence of tight end Terrance Ferguson, their top pass-catcher at the position. He was just about to return from an ankle injury last week when he injured his hamstring in Friday’s practice, sidelining him again indefinitely.

The Rams remaining receivers are Konata Mumpfield, a modest contributor during his two seasons; Tutu Atwell, the undersized speedster who has struggled for six seasons to get playing time under McVay; Xavier Smith, a depth receiver and inconsistent kick returner for the previous two seasons; and CJ Daniels, the sixth-round rookie who has played six offensive snaps.

Atwell signed with Miami last spring, but the Rams reacquired him in August when no clear-cut No. 3 receiver emerged from the preseason. The Rams then cut Smith in October after he made yet another mistake as a punt returner, but they signed him off San Francisco's practice squad on Tuesday.

“We have a job to do,” Stafford said. “Let’s go out there and do it. I believe in those guys, I hope they believe in me, and let’s go rock and roll.”

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Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford runs the ball during the first half of an NFL football game against the Washington Commanders in Landover, Md., Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Tutu Atwell, right, makes a catch past Los Angeles Chargers cornerback Tarheeb Still (4) during the first half of an NFL football game in Inglewood, Calif., Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)