Tag: Lynn Bowden Jr.

Patriots release promising veteran WR in first post-draft cut

The Patriots have released one of their veteran receivers.

The New England Patriots announced they were releasing veteran wide receiver Lynn Bowden Jr. on Wednesday.

Bowden, a former 2020 third-round draft pick, played 14 offensive snaps in total for the Patriots in 2022. So he wasn’t as heavily involved in the offense as some hoped when he was initially signed.

The former Kentucky Wildcat standout has played a number of positions over the course of his career, including receiver, running back and even quarterback. There was also hope that he’d factor into the return game for the Patriots on special teams.

Yet, the team could never make use of his versatility, and he’s once again on the outs with his third NFL team in three years.

There’s still hope he could end up re-signing with the Patriots down the line. Coach Bill Belichick has a tendency to bring back former players, even if it’s only as a member of the practice squad.

Bowden is a unique talent that should find some use in New England or elsewhere.

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Patriots sign former All-SEC receiver to reserve/future deal for 2023

The Patriots are reportedly signing a former First-Team All-SEC receiver to a reserve/future contract.

The New England Patriots have signed former First-Team All-SEC wide receiver Lynn Bowden Jr. to a reserve/future contract. It was a move confirmed by the team on Monday.

Bowden spent most of the 2022 season on the Patriots’ practice squad, but he was elevated to the active roster for their Week 9 meeting with the Indianapolis Colts.

The 2023 season will bring new opportunities for Patriots receivers with Jakobi Meyers and Nelson Agholor both slated to test free agency. It opens the possibility for Bowden and others to land an expanded role on the roster.

With that said, Bowden’s dynamic playmaking abilities at multiple positions might be enough to net him more opportunities alone. He can play receiver, quarterback and running back in the offense.

So the possibilities are endless with a viable offensive play-caller like Bill O’Brien overseeing things. Of course, that’s assuming Bowden makes the necessary adjustments in the offseason to create that sort of trust in the coaching staff to actually put him on the field more often.

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Patriots put veteran tackle on IR, bump 3 players to main roster

Patriots make several moves ahead of Week 9 meeting with the Colts

The New England Patriots’ offensive line was dealt a blow on Saturday with the team announcing veteran right tackle Marcus Cannon was being placed on injured reserve.

Cannon had been in concussion protocol leading up to the team’s Week 9 showdown with the Indianapolis Colts. It’s a disappointing turn of events for a Patriots team already playing without center David Andrews (concussion).

That’s going to heap a lot of pressure on Isaiah Wynn to show some consistency and avoid the backbreaking penalties he’s cost the team when on the field.

Along with announcing Cannon to IR, the team signed running back JJ Taylor to the active 53-man roster, while also elevating wideout Lynn Bowden Jr. and offensive lineman Kody Russey from the practice squad.

Taylor receiving a bump is a response to Damien Harris popping up on the injury report as questionable for Sunday’s game with an illness. Meanwhile. Russey provides depth along the offensive front, and Bowden is a gadget playmaker with legitimate big-play ability with the ball in his hands.

The Patriots have already ruled out Andrews, Cannon and DeVante Parker for the game.

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Patriots snag former division rival to fill last practice squad spot

The Patriots have filled the final spot on their practice squad.

The New England Patriots have reportedly signed former Las Vegas Raiders and Miami Dolphins receiver Lynn Bowden Jr. to their practice squad, according to ESPN’s Field Yates.

This move shores up the last remaining spot on the unit for the Patriots.

It’s also a move that makes sense considering Bowden’s ridiculous versatility. He’s played at receiver, quarterback and even running back during his time at the University of Kentucky.

It’s a big reason why he was considered one of the best Swiss army knife players in the country and taken in the third-round of the 2020 NFL draft.

He finished his collegiate career with 1,816 scrimmage yards and 14 touchdowns in his senior year. That isn’t something to sneeze at for a former SEC player.

After being drafted by the Raiders, he was ultimately traded as a rookie to Miami, where he hauled in 28 receptions for 211 yards in his first season. He was then placed on IR in his second year.

The Patriots could use Bowden in so many different spots on offense. He even has special teams experience as a returner. Coach Bill Belichick has always had a soft spot in his heart for versatile players, and Bowden might have potentially found a home where he sticks.

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Lynn Bowden Jr. says Raiders coaching staff revealed true feelings about him on hot mic

The Raiders said their odd trade of draft pick Lynn Bowden Jr. was a football decision, but Bowden says he heard evidence to the contrary.

When the Las Vegas Raiders abruptly traded their third-round draft pick in 2020, the dynamic former Kentucky star, Lynn Bowden Jr., general manager Mike Mayock said it was a football decision only, having nothing to do with a raid at Bowden’s family home — which occurred with Bowden at the residence.

And that might be true. If it is, it’s likely because coach Jon Gruden asked Bowden, a successful wide receiver and quarterback in college, to play running back.

But trading a dynamic player like Bowden so soon raises eyebrows, regardless of the reason. And it’s definitely given Bowden, now a promising WR for the Dolphins, plenty of motivation.

Bowden said that — and plenty more — in an expansive article by Tyler Dunne of Go Long. One of the many interesting insights from the piece is a story from Bowden about hearing a conversation about him amongst Raiders coaches — one he wasn’t supposed to hear.

Bowden says that after the raid was complete (Bowden was handcuffed but the authorities found nothing illegal and Bowden wasn’t arrested nor charged with a crime), he opted to video chat with Raiders special teams coach Rich Bisaccia, who was in the midst of a coaches’ meeting.

But Bowden says the coaches were somehow unaware that Bowden could hear what they were saying about the raid and their young draft pick.

“Nobody was sticking up for me,” Bowden says. “It was, ‘Well, you know it is a drug house, it’s a gang-related house. So, he could’ve been in it.’ I’m hearing it! This is my first time even telling anybody this [stuff]. I’m hearing ‘em! So I’m already knowing what their mindset is.”

That certainly puts the Raiders “football only” claim into question. Though ultimately, that claim is possibly true. After Bowden was traded to Miami, however, unconfirmed reports suggested the Raiders considered Bowden to be an off-field issue.

Bowden also contends that while the coaches had much to say on a hot mic, the team’s two top dogs, Gruden and Mayock, never approached him about the infamous raid.

The Bowden trade makes the Raiders front office look out of touch with today’s NFL, regardless of their exact reason for trading such a talented player so soon. That the coaches didn’t know how to operate a video chat app only adds comedic fuel to that fire.

Dunne says he reached out to Mayock for comment regarding his article but received no reply. That’s unsurprising. The Raiders probably want this story to go away, and logistically, avoiding comment is the right move. Bowden is no longer a Raider, so he’s no longer their concern.

But realistically, the story of Bowden’s career false-start in Las Vegas won’t dissipate anytime soon. Especially with the talent that he flashed during his rookie campaign in Miami. Perhaps, if we’re lucky, the Raiders coaching staff will mistakingly reveal how they feel about the situation again in the years to come.

Mike Mayock says Raiders asked too much of failed draft pick Lynn Bowden Jr.

Former Raiders draft pick Lynn Bowden Jr. was traded before suiting up in Las Vegas, and GM Mike Mayock reveals part of the reason why.

In 2020, the Raiders planned to go to the playoffs. Instead, it was a season full of lessons.

That includes learning how to run a franchise during a pandemic, as every NFL team had to do — and still has to do — as COVID-19 hopefully continues to dissipate and vaccinations take hold.

On Wednesday, Raiders general manager Mike Mayock expressed some regret about his draft philosophy in 2020, when the pandemic first started to grip society. He mentioned to reporters the overall frustration of last year and how he’s better prepared this time around.

Part of Mayock’s angst revolved around Lynn Bowden Jr., one of his three third-round picks from a year ago. The Raiders tried to convert the college quarterback and wide receiver into a running back, a daring prospect in any campaign, and a doomed idea during a pandemic, as Mayock explains.

“If you look back at it and you think, should you be picking guys that perhaps were a projection from one position to another?” Mayock said. “You know, we took [Bowden] in the third round and ended up trading him to Miami before the seasons started. He was a college slot receiver and a quarterback and we tried to move him to running back in a pandemic year. And to be honest with you, I don’t think it was fair to the kid. We don’t even see him face-to-face live until training camp in July.”

The process was not fair to Bowden, and not very beneficial to the Raiders, as it turned out.

There were other possible issues surrounding Bowden, too. Reports suggested the Kentucky product enjoyed the Las Vegas lifestyle too much and was potentially a bad influence on WR Henry Ruggs III, the team’s first-round pick.

Mayock insisted he traded Bowden for on-the-field reasons, however. He sent Bowden to the Dolphins along with a sixth-round pick and received a fourth-round choice in return.

So what did Mayock learn? Well, a lot. He outlined additional issues stemming from the pandemic such as this year’s medical evaluations, which he says will be completed late and not be as “finite” as he’d like, and a lack of live, in-person conversations.

But his bottom line regarding the draft seems to be this: get what you can from the process rather than make it more complicated than it already is, especially during a pandemic.

“Basically, what I’m saying is that I think in a COVID year, you have to be nimble and you have to learn lessons,” said Mayock. “And you have to try to leverage the draft for whatever you can.”

Mayock needs to infuse the roster with talent, especially on defense, in a hurry, and it won’t be easy since he has fewer draft picks and less salary-cap space to work with than he has before. In his third draft with Las Vegas, the pressure is on, pandemic or not, to get his team to the playoffs in 2021, and any lesson learned should help.

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Jon Gruden says ‘we’ll see’ if Raiders face discarded draft pick WR Lynn Bowden Jr. vs. Dolphins

The Raiders drafted Lynn Bowden Jr. in the 3rd round of the 2020 NFL Draft and quickly discarded him. But he’s found a home with an AFC foe.

This year hasn’t gone as planned for coach Jon Gruden and the Raiders. Multiple factors have led to yet another late-season collapse, and the team is still looking to gain its eighth win and avoid a losing campaign.

The issues range from the immediate, most notably, quarterback Derek Carr’s groin injury, all the way back to the remote past, such as trading stud defensive end Khalil Mack to start Gruden’s tenure. (Sure, that trade is debatable, but the Raiders’ lack of strength in its front-7 is holding the team back mightily.)

But hold on, let’s not go that far backward. Let’s go to the start of the 2020 campaign: the draft. The Raiders selected the versatile Lynn Bowden Jr. in the third round, only to trade him to the Dolphins before the season started, sending a sixth-round pick along with Bowden and receiving a fourth-round choice in return.

Bowden played wide receiver and quarterback in college at Kentucky, but in a curious move, the Raiders tried him at running back. They apparently decided he wasn’t very good (there were also reported character issues, denied by general manager Mike Mayock) and shipped him out of town, talent and all.

Now, Bowden is on a hot streak with his new club, contributing to a surprisingly solid campaign for the Dolphins, who the Raiders just happen to face this Saturday.

Gruden was asked about Bowden by reporters on Tuesday, and his answer was short, and a tad disparaging.

“Well, he’s got to play because they’ve had some injuries, and obviously they’re using him in the slot,” Gruden said. “They’re using some gadget plays, and we’ll see if we see Lynn. I’m happy for him. I’m glad he found a role. But when [Jakeem] Grant got hurt, when DeVante Parker got hurt, they adjust much like we have to adjust.”

Okay, so Bowden was a bit buried on the depth chart. But he’s been unearthed in a big way, and his recent success makes the Raiders’ brass look somewhat incompetent. Especially considering what Las Vegas has gotten from the draft picks it decided to keep.

Check out this stat from the Raiders Wire’s own Levi Damian.

Due to the above ridiculousness, the Raiders look incredibly short-sighted, to say the least. This season is heading down the drain yet again, and Las Vegas will likely get an up-close look at one of their failed moves this weekend. There’s still time to salvage what’s left of the campaign and earn win No. 8, and Gruden had better make that happen so failures like this are lost in the shuffle as opposed to staring him in the face on game day.

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Raiders trade rookie 3rd-round pick Lynn Bowden Jr. to Dolphins

The Las Vegas Raiders are already parting ways with 2020 third-round pick Lynn Bowden Jr., trading him to the Miami Dolphins

The Las Vegas Raiders career of Lynn Bowden Jr. is ending before it even begins.

A third-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, Bowden is already being traded to the Miami Dolphins along with a sixth-round pick for a fourth-round pick, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Bowden was a jack of all trades at Kentucky, playing wide receiver and quarterback, establishing himself as an explosive playmaker with the ball in his hands. The Raiders listed him as a running back after drafting him, and will now be shipping him to Miami for a later pick than the one they just spent on him.

It’s a strange move for the Raiders, but gives the Dolphins another promising weapon for rookie quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

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GM Mike Mayock says Raiders will use rookie Lynn Bowden Jr in ‘Joker’ role

GM Mike Mayock says Raiders will use rookie Lynn Bowden Jr in ‘Joker’ role

When the Raiders draft Lynn Bowden with the No. 80 pick in the 2020 draft, it was a bit surprising to hear commissioner Roger Goodell announce him as a “running back.” The pick itself wasn’t a shocker, but his position was.

During Bowden’s college career, he played mostly as a receiver until he was forced to move to the quarterback positional for the final eight games of his career. Bowden finished his college career in 114 receptions for 1,303 yards and six touchdowns.

While it would appear the wide receiver is his best spot in the NFL, the Raiders will start him out as a running back to get him on the field more often. In a recent article on ESPN, general manager Mike Mayock talked about Bowden being involved in the offense as a pass-catcher:

“In the SEC two years ago, he caught 60-70 passes as a slot [receiver]. Last year, as you guys know, he was quarterback/wildcat … we think he’s one of the most athletic, tougher guys in this year’s draft. We’re going to train him to be running back. If he’s able to do that job, we’ll be able [to] do some other things with him — move him around, let him catch the football.”

Because of Bowden’s size (5’11, 204 pounds), he does appear to fit better as a running back. However, don’t expect him to be used as a traditional running back in any sense of the word. According to Mayock, Bowden will be used in the “Joker” role in the offense.

What that exactly means remains to be seen, but look for Bowden to get snaps at running back, slot receiver, kick returner, and even quarterback in Jon Gruden’s offense. But the goal appears to be simple for Gruden; get the ball into the hands of No. 33.

Look for the Raiders to ease Bowden into his role on offense in 2020, likely playing him solely as a running back to start the year. But given just how dynamic and versatile he has shown to be, expect the Raiders to continue to add more to his plate as the season goes along.

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