APBuccaneers rookie defensive end Da’Quan Bowers is coming off his best game, and he says he’s demonstrating that the pre-draft buzz about him was wrong.
Once viewed as a potential first overall pick in the 2011 NFL draft, Bowers ended up going 51st overall, mostly because of concerns that his knees would cut his career short. Bowers has played in all 12 games this year, and he thinks he’s put those health concerns to rest.
“I think people are starting to realize that they made a mistake [by not drafting me earlier],” Bowers told the Tampa Tribune. “But you know what? Everyone else’s mistake is Tampa’s gain. It’s a lovely situation that I’m in here with the Bucs, and I wouldn’t change it for the world. I hope this is where I start and end my career as a football player.”
It’s too soon to say all the other teams made a mistake on Bowers: He only moved into the starting lineup two weeks ago, and he didn’t get to the quarterback until last week, when he had 1.5 sacks in the Bucs’ loss to the Panthers. And just because Bowers hasn’t suffered a knee injury yet doesn’t mean team medical staffs were wrong to be concerned.
So Bowers has a ways to go before he has really proven that the teams that passed on him made a mistake. But Sunday’s 1.5-sack effort was a big step in that direction.
Channel Finder
I wish him luck. He was a great player at Clemson until injuries got to him.
The injuries will come back, they never go away for good.
He was a great player at Clemson his entire last season, injured or not.
It’s worth noting that along with his 1.5 sacks he had 5 tackles for loss and 8 tackles total. He’s probably the only player on the Tampa D that was actually playing well.
i was pissed when the vikings passed him up in the second round. they didnt need another TE but rudolph has helped alot
Bowers started after Michael Bennett’s injury (Too Bad) because Da’Quan isn’t giving the job back
really injuries catch up with you willis mcghee two three knee surgeries and he is still runnning. bowers is and deserves the best go bucs sorry misspelling pleasing wife with sunday morning champagne in bed with vistiting thong on she has 31 teams thongs wont out bucs thing in her butt not right licking ur team on panties
he should pat himself on the back! pro bowler?
lmao
I truly hope this special kid stays healthy and successful in tampa and nfl.
Let’s not forget Da’Quan, you were Tampa’s second pick. So they passed you over too.
I wish him luck, hate to see an exciting player with injuries, and I was pulling for my team to get him in the 2nd round although they obviously didn’t.
But objectively speaking, if you have to come out in the press and proclaim verbally that you are proving teams wrong that passed on you….. that means your play isn’t speaking loud enough. At least not yet—which is understandable coming off microfracture surgery. I wouldn’t expect him to be 100% until next year. Good luck Da’Quan.
Bowers will be good as long as football is important to him. As for the injuries, totally overblown. Just about every player in the league has been injured. including guys like Ray Lewis, Tom Brady, Wes Welker, etc… it’s part of the game. He led ALL of college in sacks on a “bad” knee. That’s a plus, not a minus.