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| Is Da'Quan done? |
Bowers said that he is beyond motivated to show that he is healthy and to prove to the teams that passed on him that they made a mistake. Buccaneers general manager Mark Dominik told me that the snub clearly has made Bowers hungrier, and coupled with his love of the sport, Bowers' intangibles could make him an even better player than anyone expects.
Bowers looks much more lean and fit these days than he did at the NFL Scouting Combine. At 280 pounds he's at an optimum weight for a left defensive end, the position Dominik said he'll play in the Bucs' 4-3 defense. He's able to run, cut, jump and fully train now because the infamous knee that caused him to be pulled off several teams' draft boards is healing. Bowers would not say that he's fully recovered, but that he's "ahead of schedule" and would be ready for training camp
A few other notes disclosed by Bowers:
» He didn't know that his knee injury was problematic until he realized he couldn't participate at the combine. A red flag went off in his mind, as it did with several teams.
» Bowers didn't know the extent of his knee procedure until repeatedly hearing some of the reports about the surgery. He thought he was simply having a minor scope and even though doctors told him they had to do additional work -- there was a minor micro-fracture procedure -- Bowers didn't know how serious it was.
Surely the Bucs knew this when they drafted him, but the fact the word "microfracture" is finally being said is not a good sign. While Bowers may recover, players have a poor history of returning from such injuries, and it could very well limit his ability to make an impact this season.
Source: NFL.com
Author: Steve Wyche
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