Da'Quan Bowers dropped to the second round in the 2011 draft due to medical issues. Those same concerns could end up getting him cut in Tampa.
The Buccaneers pass rusher is nursing a groin strain that has kept him out more than a week, and it's uncertain if he'll play Saturday in Buffalo, which could make it difficult to make the team.
"I think every day you don't practice you're hurting your chances (of making the team),'' coach Lovie Smith said, per the Tampa Bay Times. "We've seen enough to like Da'Quan a lot. But all the reps that he's not getting, someone else is getting them. The best way to beat your competition sometimes is just to stay on the field. You can't get Wally Pipped. Da'Quan is trying to get back. Again, I think he has a future in the league, whether it be as a defensive end outside or more of a third down rush guy inside.''
Bowers has missed nine games in three seasons and hasn't looked explosive in just eight starts, earning merely 5.5 sacks in 39 appearances.
"It (injuries) comes with the game, you can't prevent injury, but like Coach said, anytime you can't perform on the practice field it gives someone else another opportunity," Bowers told the media Thursday, per PewterReport.com.
"You know everybody is on the bubble," Bowers continued. "There are a select few guys here who have got their spots. The rest of us are competing as well as anywhere else in the league. No one is set in stone, definitely not me. I just take that into consideration each and every day."
The current Bucs regime didn't draft Bowers, and we've seen that Smith and general manager Jason Licht aren't afraid to dump players they believe can be replaced. If Bowers doesn't get healthy and display improvement in a hurry, he could be the next casualty.
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