Tampa Bay Buccaneers DE Da’Quan Bowers is “100 Percent” Healthy
By Josh Hill
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost defensive end Micheal Bennett this offseason, but the front office defended the move by saying they didn’t want him anyways. The reason: they have former second-round draft pick Da’Quan Bowers ready to play on the edge, granted he’s healthy. According to the Tampa Times it would appears that’s exactly the case heading into camps.
But while he’s healthy for the first time in what seems like years, Bowers says there’s still al lot to prove.
“It’s not only injuries, but (my) play. I haven’t been the dominant player that I know I can be,” Bowers said, via the Tampa Times. “I have a lot of potential to be one of the best and the elite at what (I) do, and I haven’t shown that at this level yet. (It was) injuries and not understanding what was going on. It takes time to mature at this level. I think my maturation process is going on now and a lot of it has already passed. So I’m just looking for an opportunity now.”
One giant question mar surrounding Bowers was a gun charge he was arrested on in New York earlier this year. Bowers got off on the charge, escaped punishment from the NFL and is counting his blessings moving forward.
“There is no right way to make a mistake. I just apologize to the fans and the organization that I put in that (position). I apologize to my family,” Bowers said. “That’s not what I’m about. That’s not the type of person that I am. I appreciate Mark (Dominik) and the Glazers and Coach (Greg) Schiano for being with me through this whole situation.”
2013 will mark the first time since his days at Clemson that the defensive end has truly been healthy. Knee injuries caused him to free fall form the top spot in the draft in 2011 and bogged down his first two years with the Bucs. An Achilles injury before last season didn’t help anything but Bowers finally seems ready to become the top player many thought he could be coming out of college.