David Walter Bowens (born July 3, 1977) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

who played twelve seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

. He was drafted by the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...

in the fifth round of the 1999 NFL Draft. He played college football at

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

. Bowens has also been a member of the Green Bay Packers, Buffalo Bills,

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...

, New York Jets, and

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...

Early years

Bowens attended

St. Mary's Preparatory St. Mary's Preparatory is a co-educational, Catholic, college preparatory high school with a Polish-American heritage in the Detroit suburb of Orchard Lake Village, Michigan. Its mission and message is "1. God; 2. Family; 3. St. Mary's." Overvie ...

Orchard Lake, Michigan Orchard Lake Village is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,375 at the 2010 census. A northern suburb of Metro Detroit, Orchard Lake Village is located about southwest of the city of Pontiac and northw ...

and was a

letterman Letterman may refer to: * Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States People * David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host ** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...

in football,

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

, and

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

. In basketball, he won All-State honors.

College career

Bowens started his college career at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

for two seasons before he transferred to Western Illinois. He majored in accounting.

Professional career

Denver Broncos

Bowens was originally drafted in the fifth round (158th overall) of the 1999 NFL Draft out of

Western Illinois University Western Illinois University (WIU) is a public university in Macomb, Illinois. It was founded in 1899 as Western Illinois State Normal School. As the normal school grew, it became Western Illinois State Teachers College. History Western Illin ...

by the

Green Bay Packers

Bowens played for the Green Bay Packers in 2000, recording 3.5 sacks.

Miami Dolphins

Bowens played with the

from 2001 to 2006.

New York Jets

On March 27, he agreed to terms on a three-year contract with the Jets worth more than $6 million. He was released by the Jets on February 19, 2009.

Cleveland Browns

Bowens was signed to a four-year, $7.2 million contract by the

on March 10, 2009.Jets Release Tight End Baker
SI.com, February 20, 2009 The move reunited him with head coach Eric Mangini, for whom he played while with the Jets. On October 24, 2010, he caught and returned two interceptions for touchdowns against the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

, one for 64 yards and another for 30 yards. These were vital plays and led to the Browns upset win over the Saints, 30-17. On February 9, 2011, the Browns released Bowens.

References

External links

Cleveland Browns bio

New York Jets bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowens, David 1977 births Living people American football defensive ends American football linebackers Buffalo Bills players Cleveland Browns players Denver Broncos players Green Bay Packers players Miami Dolphins players Michigan Wolverines football players New York Jets players Washington Redskins players Western Illinois Leathernecks football players St. Mary's Preparatory alumni Players of American football from Denver People from Orchard Lake, Michigan Players of American football from Michigan Ed Block Courage Award recipients