One of the most intriguing members of the New England Patriots’ practice squad is receiving his first chance to contribute on game day.
Lynn Bowden, a multipositional offensive player who landed in New England after cutdown day, was elevated to the active roster for Sunday’s Week 9 matchup against the Indianapolis Colts at Gillette Stadium.
Bowden is listed as a wide receiver, practices with the wideouts and wears No. 86, but he could provide depth at multiple spots for the shorthanded Patriots. He’s played both receiver and running back, and New England will be down key players at both of those positions with DeVante Parker (knee) and Damien Harris (illness) both inactive Sunday.
This is the first gameday elevation for Bowden, who spent the last two seasons with the Miami Dolphins. Here’s what we wrote about the 25-year-old’s versatile skill set after he signed with the Patriots in early September:
Bowden hasn’t done much at the NFL level to date, but he was an extremely versatile collegiate player at Kentucky, playing both wide receiver and run-first quarterback along with returning punts and kicks.
He rushed for 1,468 yards and averaged 7.9 yards per carry as a junior in 2019 — with injuries thrusting him into the starting QB role midway through the season — adding 403 passing yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions and 30 receptions for 348 yards and one score. Bowden also amassed 1,629 kick-return yards over his three-year college career, averaging 22.9 yards per runback. He won the 2019 Paul Hornung Award as the most versatile player in college football.
Bill Belichick has long valued players who can play multiple positions — third-round rookie Marcus Jones was last year’s Hornung Award recipient — and Bowden was viewed as a logical Patriots target ahead of the 2020 NFL Draft. He wound up going in the third round to the Las Vegas Raiders, who quickly traded him to Miami before the end of his first preseason.
The 24-year-old appeared in 10 games as a rookie, catching 28 passes for 211 yards and rushing nine times for 32 yards while primarily playing in the slot.
The Patriots could look to utilize Bowden’s ball-carrying ability to spell lead back Rhamondre Stevenson, whose snap rate was above 85% in each of the last two games Harris missed. They also promoted third-year running back J.J. Taylor from the practice squad for additional depth, with rookies Pierre Strong and Kevin Harris (a healthy scratch Sunday) not yet trusted with meaningful offensive roles.
Bowden’s quarterbacking background also gives him gadget-play potential. The Patriots have yet to have a non-QB attempt a pass this season but did so in each of the final four years of Josh McDaniels’ tenure as offensive coordinator.
