No move on Saturday was met with more shock than the Raiders trading third round rookie Lynn Bowden Jr before he could ever set foot on the field. And rightfully so, because it just rarely happens that a team gives up on a top day two drafted player before ever actually seeing him play.
Right away, it seemed like there had to be more at play here. After all, the team knew from the moment they drafted him that he was a project. The consistently said their plans for Bowden were long term. They would start him out as a running back, with several roles including as a return specialist, and eventually he would be a ‘Joker’ receiver.
Soon a report in The Athletic detailed issues the team allegedly had with Bowden’s character and off field incidents. This paragraph in particular stood out from the piece.
“Some at the team facility thought the rookie was more concerned with picking up new cars than the playbook, and on the field Bowden looked measured and not explosive. On top of a lack of breakaway speed, he was always getting blasted when it was his turn to pass block. There were also some growing concerns that he was getting more and more distracted in Las Vegas and that he might be an influence on other rookies like Henry Ruggs III and Damon Arnette.”
This would suggest Bowden was out on the town in Vegas soaking up the high life or something. But Bowden essentially denied that was the case in a tweet, saying to “Don’t believe everything you read” as well as that he only left his house twice since arriving in Las Vegas.
Don’t believe everything you read lol I stepped outside of my home twice if that 😁 on to a new journey let’s rock 💪🏽
— Lynn Bowden Jr (@LynnBowden_1) September 6, 2020
His account of things was seemingly backed up by Raiders General Manager Mike Mayock Sunday over conference call.
“Let me make a couple of points,” Mayock said of the trade of Bowden. “Number one; it was a football decision only. Character, off-the-field, the kid did absolutely nothing wrong. We did all our homework on the kid, off the field, he worked his tail off, he came to work every day. So, this was completely a football decision, it had nothing to do with anything else. Quite frankly I think the position change is a difficult one in any year. But it’s exaggerated in a COVID year with no offseason. So, you’re taking a kid that was a slot receiver in ’18, a quarterback in ’19 and asking him to play running back in ’20. Really the only other thing I’m going to say about it is it was my call. He was not able to play today at the level expected and because of that we felt like we had to make a move. And again, it’s 100% on me.”
I think with anything like this, there are two sides and the truth lies somewhere in between. The only thing that really makes sense is that Bowden was traded for *mostly* on-field reasons, but there’s just too much smoke for there not to be some fire in terms of character fit. Or at very least a worry about future issues because of character.
Mayock mentions he knew what they were asking Bowden to do was not easy. So, if all else was copasetic, why not allow him the time to either become the ‘Joker” receiver you envisioned him to be, or move him back to receiver?
In the end, fans are given their choice of what to believe, which is frustrating but somewhat expected. Mayock’s hands are tied. It wouldn’t be the professional or classy move to take parting shots at Bowden by confirming any kind of character allegations.
Mayock said “he was not able to play today” and based on what I saw in camp, that statement is accurate. They tried him all over the place and appeared to have found a better option in each case.
This is, as Mayock noted, 100% on him. They drafted an ‘athlete’ and tried to make him into something he was not. And perhaps something about their perception of his character suggested to them that he wasn’t worth investing their time to develop him. So, they cut bait and took a loss instead of a roster spot.