Bowden Brings Even More Versatility to Offense

Miami Dolphins offensive coordinator Chan Gailey said Monday he didn't know much about newcomer Lynn Bowden Jr., but it's safe to assume he's going to learn about him very quickly.

And what he's going to find out is that the trade with the Las Vegas Raiders will give him more options if he wants to get tricky or fancy with the Dolphins offense.

The Dolphins already had the same type of player on the roster with former Navy quarterback Malcolm Perry, who they took in the seventh round of the 2020 NFL draft. Now comes Bowden, who was drafted by the Raiders in the third round after playing wide receiver in 2018 and then Wildcat quarterback in 2019.

If they want, the Dolphins now have two players other than quarterbacks Ryan Fitzpatrick and Tua Tagovailoa who could take snaps in 2020, which is something they did last year with running back Kalen Ballage.

The difference is that Ballage never was a quarterback in college like Perry and Bowden.

The hope is that Bowden and Perry can bring another dimension to the offense, though head coach Brian Flores cautioned — as he often does — against expecting too much too soon from the two rookies.

“It’s two young players that have a lot to learn, haven’t played in the National Football League, don’t know the speed of the game," Flores said Monday morning. "They’ve got a long way to go. I’m excited about both Lynn and Malcolm from a talent standpoint. They’re tough. They’re competitive guys. It’s important to them.

"As far as Lynn, obviously we did a lot of work on him pre-draft and when the trade was an option here, we did a lot more work, so we’re excited about having him join our team ... (but) he’s got a lot to learn in a little bit of time. He’s excited. We’re excited to have him. We’re excited to have Malcolm also and a lot of guys in this rookie class, so we look forward to working with all the young guys and really everyone on this team."

This second deal with the Raiders in a week saw the Dolphins send back the fourth-round pick they got in the Raekwon McMillan trade for Bowden and a conditional 2021 sixth-round selection.

Though a story on The Athletic website suggested there were issues with Bowden not taking his job seriously enough, Raiders GM Mike Mayock insisted the trade was purely a football decision made because Bowden couldn't make a smooth transition to running back.

"Number one, it was a football decision only," Mayock told Raiders reporters in a conference call. "Character, off-the-field, the kid did absolutely nothing wrong. We did all our homework on the kid off the field. He worked his tail off. He came to work every day. So this was completely a football decision. It had nothing to do with anything else.

"Quite frankly, I think the position change is a difficult one in any year, but it's exaggerated in a COVID-19 year with no offseason. You're taking a kid that was a slot receiver in '18, a quarterback in '19 and asking him to play running back in '20. Really, the only other thing I'm going to say about it is that it was my call. He was not able to play today at the level expected. Because of that, we felt like we had to make a move. Again, it's 100 percent on me."

It's only fair then to wonder why Mayock spent a third-round pick on Bowden knowing about the challenge of a position change in this unusual season.

But the bottom line is that Bowden is now with the Dolphins. Given he'll have to learn a new offense back to his old position of wide receiver, it's entirely possible he won't be ready to contribute for the Dolphins in the season opener at New England.

But if Bowden pans out in Miami, the possibilities certainly are interesting in terms of what he could bring to the offense.