Matt Bowen

Bowen with theWashington Redskins in 2005
No. 27, 28, 41
Position	Safety
Personal information
Born	(1976-11-12)November 12, 1976 (age 49) Glen Ellyn, Illinois, U.S.
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight	207 lb (94 kg)
Career information
High school	Glen Ellyn (IL) Glenbard West
College	Iowa
NFL draft	2000: 6th round, 198th overall pick
Career history
St. Louis Rams (2000–2001) Green Bay Packers (2001–2002) Washington Redskins (2003–2005) Buffalo Bills (2006)
Awards and highlights
Second-teamAll-Big Ten (1999)
Career NFL statistics
Total tackles 227 Sacks 2.0 Forced fumbles 3 Pass deflections 18 Interceptions 4 Stats atPro Football Reference

Matthew Sean Bowen (born November 12, 1976) is an American former professionalfootballsafety in theNational Football League (NFL). He played college football for theIowa Hawkeyes, and was selected by theSt. Louis Rams in the sixth round of the2000 NFL draft. Bowen currently works as a sports journalist.

Bowen was an all-state, all-area and all-conference selection as aquarterback atGlenbard West High School inGlen Ellyn, Illinois. He was originally recruited toIowa as a quarterback after finishing his senior season asteam captain andMVP after passing for 1,533 yards and 17touchdowns, and gaining 1,329 yards and 17 scores on the ground. He also played three seasons of baseball and four seasons of basketball. His mentor was Hasani Steele, who played in the Rose Bowl with Northwestern University.

Bowen was a four-year letterwinner (1996–99) atIowa, he started his final two seasons and earned second-teamAll-America recognition and first-teamAll-Big Ten honors. He posted a career-high 109 tackles (76 solo) and twoINTs as a senior and led the team with 92tackles (57 solo) and two interceptions as a junior.

Matt Bowen was selected in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL draft by the St. Louis Rams. He was the 198th player to be selected overall and the final player to be selected before the New England Patriots draftedTom Brady one pick later.^[2] He earnedSt. 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 Rams'Wild Cardplayoff atNew 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.

In 2001, Bowen signed with theGreen Bay Packers to provide depth and help to the Packerssecondary andspecial 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 oninjured 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.

In 2002, Bowen appeared in all 16 games, starting six, contributing as a backupsafety, 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 whenAntuan Edwards was sidelined with a fractured forearm. He also started atfree safety forDarren Sharper in the regular-season finale. He made his first-career postseason start againstAtlanta in theNFCWild 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 forcedfumble, one interception and seven passes defended.

Bowen signed with the Washington Redskins as a restrictedfree 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.

In 2004, Bowen started the first five games at strong safety for the Redskins before suffering a tornACL on his right knee on a special teams play. He was placed on injured reserve on October 11.

In 2005, Bowen saw action in 13 games, tallied 14 tackles, including 13 solo.

On March 10, 2006, theWashington Redskins released him as an unrestrictedfree-agent, upon which on March 16, 2006, he signed a two-year, $2 million contract with theBuffalo Bills, which included a $300,000signing bonus.^[3] He appeared in five games for the Bills and was subsequently released on March 1, 2007.

Bowen currently works as a sports journalist and NFL writer for ESPN where he provides a former player's perspective on the inner workings of the league. He previously spent time working for Bleacher Report and the National Football Post website and has been a contributor to theChicago Tribune website.^[4] He was also contributor on theBoers and Bernstein show.

He also earned a master's in writing and publishing fromDePaul University.^[4][5]

Bowen currently is an assistant coach for football atIC Catholic Prep high school in Elmhurst, Illinois, which is the town where Bowen lives.^[6]

Bowen and his wife, Shawn, have four sons.^[6]

• Career statistics fromNFL.com · Pro Football Reference · 

• 1976 births
• Living people
• American football safeties
• Iowa Hawkeyes football players
• Buffalo Bills players
• Green Bay Packers players
• St. Louis Rams players
• Washington Redskins players
• Sportspeople from Glen Ellyn, Illinois
• Players of American football from DuPage County, Illinois
• Sportswriters from Illinois

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from April 2018