Matt Bowen (football player)
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| Matt Bowen | |
|---|---|
| Date of birth | November 12, 1976 (age 30) |
| Place of birth |  Glen Ellyn, Illinois |
| Position(s) | Strong Safety |
| College | Iowa |
| NFL Draft | 2000 / Round 6 |
| Awards | 2000 Carroll Rosenbloom Memorial Award (Rams Rookie of the Year) |
| Statistics | |
| Team(s) | |
| 2000-2001 2001-2002 2003-2005 2006 |
St. Louis Rams Green Bay Packers Washington Redskins Buffalo Bills |
Matthew Sean Bowen (born November 12, 1976 in Glen Ellyn, Illinois) is a National Football League Strong Safety. He currently is a free agent after being released from the Bills on March 1, 2007.
Contents |
[edit] High School Career
Matt Bowen was an all-state, all-area and all-conference selection as a quarterback at Glenbard West High School in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. He was originally recruited to Iowa as a quarterback after finishing his senior season as team captain and MVP after passing for 1,533 yards and 17 touchdowns, and gaining 1,329 yards and 17 scores on the ground. He also played three seasons of baseball and four seasons of basketball.
[edit] College Career
Matt was a four-year letterwinner (1996-99) at Iowa, he started his final two seasons and earned second-team All-America recognition and first-team All-Big Ten honors. He posted a career-high 109 tackles (76 solo) and two INTs as a senior and led the team with 92 tackles (57 solo) and two interceptions as a junior.
[edit] NFL Career
[edit] 2000
Bowen earned St. Louis’ Rookie of the Year award after starting at strong safety in two contests and appearing in 16 regular season games. He also saw action in the Ram's Wild Card playoff at New Orleans. He finished the season with 21 tackles (15 solo) and two passes broken up. He also recorded 21 special teams tackles to tie for the club lead.
[edit] 2001
Bowen signed with the Green Bay Packers to provide depth and help to the Packers secondary and special teams. He started the 2001 campaign with St. Louis, but suffered a broken right foot in the season opener and was inactive for the following two games. He was placed on injured reserve on October 3 and was eventually waived on November 6. He played in Green Bay’s last five games on defense and special teams, recording four special teams tackles.
[edit] 2002
Playing for the Green Bay Packers, Bowen appeared in all 16 games, starting six, contributing as a backup safety, a valued special teams contributor as well as a weekly participant in the club’s dime package defense. He was named the starter at strong safety during Weeks 4-7 when Antuan Edwards was sidelined with a fractured forearm. He also started at free safety for Darren Sharper in the regular-season finale. He made his first-career postseason start against Atlanta in the NFC Wild Card playoff contest, responding to the challenge with a game- and career-high 15 tackles and two passes defensed. He finished the season with a career-high 42 tackles (27 solo), good for second among reserves. Bowen also added a forced fumble, one interception and seven passes defensed.
[edit] 2003
Signed with the Washington Redskins as a restricted free agent from the Green Bay Packers in March 2003. For the first time in his NFL career, Bowen started all 16 games in a season. He finished his campaign with 94 tackles (73 solo), three interceptions, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
[edit] 2004
Bowen started the first five games at strong safety for the Redskins before suffering a torn ACL on his right knee on a special teams play. He was placed on injured reserve on October 11.
[edit] 2005
Saw action in 13 games, tallied 14 tackles, including 13 solo.
[edit] 2006
On March 10, 2006, the Washington Redskins released him as an unrestricted free-agent, upon which on March 16, 2006, he signed a two-year, $2 million contract with the Buffalo Bills, which included a $300,000 signing bonus.[1]
