One of the Raiders’ many recent draft mistakes will get another chance in New England.
Lynn Bowden is signing with the Patriots’ practice squad, according to Field Yates of ESPN.
At Kentucky, Bowden won the 2019 Paul Hornung Award, which goes to the most versatile player in college football. Bowden played quarterback, running back, wide receiver and return man for the Wildcats.
But he didn’t have a well-defined position to play in the NFL, which is why it was surprising that the Raiders spent a third-round draft pick on him in 2020. In an even more surprising move, the Raiders then traded him before the regular season, getting just a swap of late-round picks from the Dolphins for him.
As a rookie in Miami, Bowden caught 28 passes for 211 yards, ran nine times for 32 yards and threw two passes, completing one of them. In 2021, Bowden missed the entire season with a hamstring injury, and the Dolphins cut him this week.
Bill Belichick likes versatile players, and perhaps he’ll be able to find a use for Bowden where the Raiders and Dolphins couldn’t.
