Is Da’Quan Bowers Worth Keeping?
January 4th, 2015
The spreadsheet geeks weigh in
It was the end of the 2012 season. Bucs sacks leader Michael Bennett was allowed to walk for no good reason, and the Bucs had an opening at defensive end.
Then-Bucs commander Greg Schiano gifted underwhelming defensive end Da’Quan Bowers with a starting gig to fill the void.
And how did Bowers reward the Bucs with this treasured present?
He got into a gun hassle in New York and showed up to training camp out of shape.
Fast forward nearly 18 months, and Bowers, who somehow dodged the Grim Reaper, was still on the Tampa Bay roster. Prior to the Week 16 game against the Packers, Bucs defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier was talking about Bowers and his attitude toward conditioning.
Still!
Bowers, who will be an unrestricted free agent in a handful of weeks, may or may not be back with the Bucs. He may or may not be back in the NFL. It seemed, playing in place of injured Gerald McCoy, the light bulb finally went on.
The spreadsheeters over at Pro Football Focus thought Bowers, in the loss to the Saints which clinched the Chase for Jameis, played quite well, types John Maney.
Da’Quan Bowers, DL: +1.9
Breakdown: Another player who finished the season on a high note, Bowers got his hands on two Drew Brees passes at the LOS, in addition to a pair of stops.
Signature Play: Bowers bulled Jahri Evans, driving him back and to the ground to pick up the QB hurry at 9:14 of the fourth.
Here is video evidence of some of Bowers’ work last week.
It may very well have been too little, too late for Bowers. He has been given umpteen chances to show he belongs, and he has wet his pants far more often than not.
If it takes nearly two years for Bowers to figure out he has to be in shape, why not get a guy that already has figured that out?
January 4th, 2015 at 11:03 am
Minimum + tons of incentive. I would do it
January 4th, 2015 at 11:08 am
He was still the last man off the LOS by far.
Dead weight
January 4th, 2015 at 11:08 am
PFF says Bridgewater was the 2nd best QB in the NFL the final 8 games of the season, so if you were wondering if PFF’s ratings should be taken seriously, there you go.
January 4th, 2015 at 11:14 am
Tolerate him until you can replace him with someone better.
January 4th, 2015 at 11:14 am
Next please. Just say NO. If conditioning is still a concern and has to be made public by coaches then move on. Easily replaced
January 4th, 2015 at 11:16 am
Nothing more than a late season surge from a guy that’s been perennially injured and out of shape.
January 4th, 2015 at 11:16 am
On Bowers.
HECK NO!
He’d be no more than backup, and you want your backup to remain healthy. What you should be asking is “If Gerald McCoy were to go down in the first game and go on injured reserve, would you want to be stuck with Bowers the rest of the year?”
I know what EVERYONE’s answer would be.
BTW, Rest in Peace, Stuart Scott.
January 4th, 2015 at 11:18 am
Would rather take my chances with promising UDFA…..let him go….he is an example of underperformance……
The bad thing is that someone will pick him up and he will shine elsewhere and we’ll have to hear the “Michael Bennett” type whines for years to come…..
January 4th, 2015 at 11:25 am
Stuart Scott. July 19, 1965 -January 4, 2015. Thank you for changing the game. Thank you for speaking the language of the people to the people. Shout outs….. One big “Boo Yah”to you. Rest In Peace Brotha.
Bigger than Football
January 4th, 2015 at 11:34 am
Luvmybucs
He was cooler than the other side of the pillow. #RIP #pioneer
January 4th, 2015 at 11:36 am
Bowers
We act like we have better players. He played very well inside, making plays all game long. Keep bowers bc we have no one better for depth.
January 4th, 2015 at 11:36 am
@DB55
No doubt brotha..No Doubt
Damn..smh
January 4th, 2015 at 11:36 am
Offer a cheap no guarantees contract with conditioning clauses, if he shows up in shape, see what he can do, not in shape, a fast release.
January 4th, 2015 at 11:39 am
Only if the price is right for his level of play.
January 4th, 2015 at 11:41 am
Report: Greg Roman interviews for Bucs offensive coordinator job – PFT
January 4th, 2015 at 11:43 am
“The struggles with the passing game led to a lot of criticism of Roman, including a barb on Twitter from the daughter of 49ers General Manager Trent Baalke that summed up the dropping confidence in Roman and the offense this season.”
I REALLY do not want Greg Roman. So watch the Bucs hire him.
January 4th, 2015 at 11:47 am
Is Da’Quan Bowers Worth Keeping? yes.
if they let him go he will probably become
great like CB Melvin did in Baltimore
once he healed up
from his injuries. Bowers injuries are
in the past. give him one more year no
guaranteed money in his contract.
January 4th, 2015 at 11:50 am
I say keep him for a low contract. I like what I saw in him as a DT
January 4th, 2015 at 11:56 am
Greg Roman is Lovie’s dream hire.
January 4th, 2015 at 11:58 am
So, now we’re going to hold onto horrible players because we’re afraid they might go elsewhere and do better???
Sorry, but that’s dumb.
January 4th, 2015 at 12:03 pm
He’s had time to produce and hasn’t. Let him test the waters and re-sign him for peanuts if no one else wants him.
January 4th, 2015 at 12:08 pm
Bonzai
Killing me to see Zuttah and Melvin balling out last night. Seems like everyone who leaves TB has a brighter/better career. What does that tell you about our org?
January 4th, 2015 at 12:09 pm
League minimum with no guarantees and then cut him if he doesn’t improve in the preseason. That allows you to have some basic continuity if rookies don’t pan out as quick. At least he knows the defensive scheme well. I don’t think he makes the regular season roster next year but he can be camp fodder.
January 4th, 2015 at 12:19 pm
Did you guys graduate from the Lovie smith school of evaluating NFL talent technical institute? Seems like.
Let cut bowers n give some scrub who worse than bowers play ala the entire off line, QB, etc.
And we wonder why were a 2-14 team. Smfh
January 4th, 2015 at 12:19 pm
maybe if he gets paid based on his play and historic performance
January 4th, 2015 at 12:21 pm
” It’s not like Winston or Mariota are can’t-miss, slam-dunk, Andrew-Luck-like players.” -Joe
THIS^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
January 4th, 2015 at 12:22 pm
If we are going to take Mariota then why not bring in Helfrich as the OC?
January 4th, 2015 at 12:35 pm
Can you guys really invision Lovie smith with a spread offense? After this embarrassment 2-14 season I can only see him going back to basics. Power fb run the ball set up the pass td are too dangerous so let kick field goals and make goal line stands.
January 4th, 2015 at 1:11 pm
Although Bowers is exactly the type of FA Lovie likes to sign to big contracts (*sarcasm*), it took Bowers almost 4 years, or 63 previous games for the light to ALEDGEDLY go on. No, if we sign him he will never be more than a backup, so don’t sign him to any more than a one year, non-guaranteed deal; a prove it type of contract.
January 4th, 2015 at 1:14 pm
My ex might have been worth keeping, too. But, I smartly moved on to to a promising FA. Best decision I ever made!
January 4th, 2015 at 1:26 pm
What let him go so some of you can say that Lovie let another one get away, gosh. These are little kids posting on here, I declare. Most fans on this site suck and for a franchise that’s not in a big market that is saying something. I know Chicagoan’s complain about the Bears when they suck but we don’t turn completely on our franchise especially after the first season of a new coaching regime. This team was a bum franchise before Lovie got here and man a bunch of from the Chi wonder why he chose Tampa instead of another franchise(lion’s).
I guess I would feel like some of you if I had founding franchise always on primetime even when we suck. With a scrub QB that can’t do anything with the offensive weapons we have. who have been to superbowls, NFC championships, division winners back to back to back, contenders in our division for most of the franchise’s history.
January 4th, 2015 at 1:37 pm
Heck the cardinals coach went 10-6 last year and no one was calling for his head. What about the fans of the rams or jags/titans well maybe not the titans. You guys are in a division with 3 of the best qb’s in the league or at least a qb that most teams would rather have than the bums on their squad now. You guy’s could have won your division outright if you had any kind of qb production. You have a team built to play outside and in the cold in december & january but you want a qb who is better suited for a dome team. Your team is being built to be hard if you want a 50points per game offense then bang the drum for your owners to build a dome. YOU CAN’T WIN IF YOU CAN’T SCORE MORE THAN 17 POINTS just watch the post season, gosh.
January 4th, 2015 at 1:59 pm
Gatrbuc…. A HC of a national power doesn’t leave to be an OC in the NFL. You should know that
January 4th, 2015 at 2:00 pm
I think bowers knows hes not gonna get paid big. I would extend him at a not minimum but low contract if possible. Hes done better on the inside and will mature more and learn from mccoy. Id hang onto him this team needs some type on continuity where possible
January 4th, 2015 at 2:22 pm
Hmm
January 4th, 2015 at 3:46 pm
What else do we have? Nothing. Is this staff capable of evaluating talent? No.
January 4th, 2015 at 4:37 pm
Yea, I hate that stupid power running game the Patriots seem to go to every November and December. They should have hung a 60 burger on the Colts if they didn’t keep giving the ball to that fullback.
That stupid Belechik and Brady who kept calling out of pass plays and into run plays when the Colt kept leaving 7 in the box.
What a couple of morons those guys are.
January 4th, 2015 at 4:59 pm
Too bad our season was over in October. wish we could hang 6 points on the colts. I think you’re the biggest moron here. Lol #truestory
January 4th, 2015 at 6:18 pm
Bowers is a perfect 3-4 DE. After the knee/leg injuries he has lost his burst to be a good 4-3 DE. Notice how bloatsd his face is, he’s bulked up a bit now to high 280s and looks comfortable at DT. We absolutely have to sign him bc if we let him go he will go to a 3-4 team and ball out.
Seeing Melvin start for the Ravens absolutely disgusts me. God d@#% are you @’##ing serious?!!!! We just have horrible luck. We knew he was good but he got injured and we suffered other injuries and had to release him to sign other players to fill those spots. It’s sickening… I’m going to the bar now… sigh
Yes RIP Stuart Scott. I can’t believe he’s gone so soon. Goes to prove that money can’t buy you more life and every day should be appreciated.
January 4th, 2015 at 6:59 pm
He loves gospel more than football.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hBhrSnqzM
January 4th, 2015 at 7:46 pm
SIGN THE MAN
Stop acting like he’s occupying someone better’s roster spot. Ok, he’s not worth the high second round pick at DE, we got it. He’s more than serviceable and represents a significant upgrade at talent from anyone behind him at the position. You can’t keep letting your talent walk away and contribute elsewhere.
January 4th, 2015 at 8:57 pm
Again with PFF? This is the same esteemed bunch that sold Anthony Collins as one of the best tackles in the NFL in 2013! They have ZERO credibility with me! That being said, IF Bowers will sign a league minimum prove it contract and IF he will show up in shape, then why not…at least for some depth.
January 5th, 2015 at 3:30 am
NO!
January 5th, 2015 at 1:46 pm
90+ bodies come to training camp. bowers will be one of them based on experience and (yes, stilll..) upside. even if you get a better player, they need to beat somebody out to prove it before you go cutting people. the ghosts of guys like donald penn and jeremy zuttah should loom large in that regard. just because you’ve identified a replacement it doesn’t automatically make him an upgrade
January 5th, 2015 at 2:44 pm
First off I want to give a shout out to the incomparable Stuart Scott..actually teared up yesterday hearing of his death. He was a true legend to ESPN and one of the greats in the sports community as a whole. I have heard from many though that he was even a better person! R.I.P. Mr. Scott and prayers go out to his family..
As for DaQuan Bowers he would be much better at this point of his career if not for all the injuries, they happen and you dont count on them! So having said that, Im with the consensus..you HAVE to keep him at DT and he is an ideal size for this position, so re-sign him to a lower value contract because he has shown flashes, and make him prove himself! Give him 1 more year and keep him also for added depth because for some reason, this team has had what I think is the WORST luck of any team in the NFL in having to deal with injuries