 Bowen with theWashington Redskins in 2011 | |||||||||||||
| No. 72 | |||||||||||||
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| Position | Defensive end | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born | (1984-03-28)March 28, 1984 (age 41) Holly Ridge, North Carolina, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight | 300 lb (136 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school | Dix Hills (NY) Half Hollow Hills West | ||||||||||||
| College | Hofstra | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 2006: undrafted | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
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Stephen Alexander Bowen (born March 28, 1984) is an American former professionalfootball player who was adefensive end in theNational Football League (NFL) for theDallas Cowboys,Washington Redskins, andNew York Jets. He playedcollege football for theHofstra Pride.
Bowen first played pee-wee football for the Baldwin Bombers at the age of 7. From 8 to 10 he played for the Roosevelt Rough Riders then onto North Babylon, NY with his father as his coach for many of his years there.[1]
He attendedHalf Hollow Hills High School West, where helettered in bothfootball andbasketball. In football, he was a two-way player atrunning back andlinebacker. As asenior, he collected 235 rushing yards, four rushingtouchdowns, 330 receiving yards, five receiving touchdowns and 97tackles.
In 2018, he was inducted into theSuffolk Sports Hall of Fame, in the American football category with the Class of 2018.
Bowen accepted a football scholarship fromHofstra University, where he was converted into adefensive end and became a three-year starter. As a freshman, he played in 5 games, making 3 tackles.
As a sophomore, he appeared in 12 games, recording 49 tackles (9.5 for loss), 3sacks and onefumble recovery. He had 8 tackles against theUniversity of Rhode Island.
As a junior, he started at right defensive end, registering 68 tackles (fourth on the team), 7.5 tackles for loss and 3 sacks. He had 9 tackles against theUniversity of New Hampshire.
As a senior, he tallied 48 tackles (11 for loss), 5.5 sacks (second on the team), one interception and 2 passes defensed. He finished his career with 168 tackles, 11.5 sacks and oneinterception, which was returned for a 31-yard touchdown.
Bowen was signed as anundrafted free agent by theDallas Cowboys after the2006 NFL draft on May 1. He was released on September 2 and signed to the team'spractice squad two days later. On November 8, he was promoted to the active roster. He appeared in the season-ending loss to theDetroit Lions and made his first careersack againstJon Kitna.
In2007, Bowen served as a back-up to starting rightdefensive endChris Canty, recording 9 quarterback pressures (tied for fourth on the team) and 23 tackles (5th among defensive linemen). In2008, he played in 14 games (he was inactive twice), posting 28 tackles, 9 quarterback pressures.[2]
In2009, he appeared in all 16 games (2 starts) as the backup toIgor Olshansky and registered a then career-high 31 tackles, 3 sacks and 33 quarterback pressures (tied for third on the team).
In2010, he appeared in all 16 games, starting 9 contests in place of an injuredMarcus Spears, while finishing with 25 tackles (10 solo), 12 quarterback pressures (third on the team), 1.5 sacks and one pass defensed.[3]
On July 28, theWashington Redskins signed Bowen to a five-year, $27.5 million contract.[4] In his first season with the team, he was named the starting right defensive end in a3–4 defense. On November 28, he was diagnosed with a third degree PCL tear, suffered against theSeattle Seahawks. He didn't need surgery and managed to start in all 16 games for the first time in his career
He set new career-highs with 41 tackles and six sacks.[5] He received the team'sEd Block Courage Award not just for overcoming injury, but also for the passing of his son and his mother-in-law.
Bowen had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in mid-April, to fix complications from his previous year knee injury.[6] On November 14, he was made aco-defensive captain after a team vote during the Redskins' bye week.[7] In the Week 14 win against theCleveland Browns, he tore his upper left biceps and would still play for the rest of the regular season.
He would make an essential defensive move in the next week against thePhiladelphia Eagles. During the Eagles last attempt to tie the game and with seconds remaining, Bowen put enough pressure onNick Foles to make him throw the ball into the turf.[8] Despite one second remaining on the clock, Foles would receive anintentional grounding penalty, ending the game and giving the Redskins the victory. He registered 51 tackles (31 solo), 32 quarterback pressures, 3 passes defensed and one sack.
In the Week 7 win against theChicago Bears, Bowen suffered a tear in his rightPCL.[9] He continued to play through the injury until he further injured his right knee in a Week 11 loss to thePhiladelphia Eagles. On November 26, the Redskins moved him toinjured reserve due to needing amicrofracture surgery to repair his torn PCL.[10] He finished the season with 19 tackles (11 solo) and one pass defensed.
Having spent all of training camp on thePUP list, it was confirmed that he would remain there at the start of the2014 season.[11] He was placed on the active roster on October 18.[12] He appeared in just 8 games (3 starts), while registering 11 tackles and no sacks.[13] He was released on February 27,2015,
On March 24, 2015, Bowen was signed as afree agent by theNew York Jets, reuniting withTodd Bowles, who was aDallas Cowboys assistant coach.[14] He was a reserve player and appeared in 15 games with one start. He announced his retirement on June 1,2016, signing a one-day contract with the Washington Redskins.[15] He finished his professional career with 128 games (57 starts), 175 tackles (103 solo), 12.5 sacks and 9 passes defensed.
| Year | Team | GP | COMB | TOTAL | AST | SACK | FF | FR | FR YDS | INT | IR YDS | AVG IR | LNG IR | TD | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | DAL | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2007 | DAL | 16 | 14 | 9 | 5 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2008 | DAL | 14 | 17 | 6 | 11 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2009 | DAL | 16 | 18 | 12 | 6 | 3.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2010 | DAL | 16 | 22 | 16 | 6 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2011 | WSH | 16 | 41 | 21 | 20 | 6.0 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2012 | WSH | 16 | 25 | 12 | 13 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 2013 | WSH | 10 | 19 | 11 | 8 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2014 | WSH | 8 | 11 | 10 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2015 | NYJ | 15 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 128 | 176 | 102 | 74 | 12.5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
Key
Bowen married his college girlfriend Tiffany Johnson, in March 2008 but divorced sometime later. The couple have 3 children-one daughter, Trinity, and twin boys, Stephen III and Skyler. Bowen's twin sons were born four months prematurely on June 28, 2011, the same day he signed with the Redskins. Unfortunately, Skyler died 10 days later.[17] On December 8, 2011, Bowen won the Redskins’Ed Block Courage Award in recognition of the inspiring way he dealt with Skyler's death.[18]
He is best friends with former NFL defensive endJason Hatcher.[19] Both of them started their NFL careers with the Dallas Cowboys in 2006.
Media related toStephen Bowen (American football player) at Wikimedia Commons