Patriots reportedly sign versatile WR Lynn Bowden Jr. to practice squad

FOXBORO — The Patriots announced Wednesday that the team had signed 15 players to its practice squad, leaving one spot open. That spot has reportedly been filled by a versatile receiver who can return kicks and play some quarterback, among a few other things on the football field.

That player is Lynn Bowden Jr., according to ESPN’s Field Yates. Bowden was a third-round pick by the Raiders in 2020, but was traded to Miami ahead of his rookie season. He spent the 2021 season on IR and hasn’t done much at the NFL level, but he did a lot of everything during his college career at Kentucky.

He was already on the practice field for the Patriots on Thursday afternoon.

Bowden broke out as a receiver for the Wildcats in 2018, catching 67 passes for 745 yards and five touchdowns. He also returned five punts that season, a role he took on an emergency basis. Bowden returned two of those five punts for touchdowns, both of which came in Kentucky victories.

He served as another emergency replacement at a much different — and more important — role in 2019, taking over at quarterback when Kentucky was hit with a rash of injuries. He had played QB in high school and taken a few Wild Cat snaps early in his college career, but this was a new ballgame for Bowden.

Bowden succeeded once again, going 6-2 as Kentucky’s starter. He was just 35-of-74 (48 percent) with three touchdowns and five interceptions as a passer in his college career, but thrived in other areas of the offense. He ran for an SEC-best 1,468 yards and averaged 7.9 yards per rush attempt in 2019. He found his way into the end zone 13 times as a rusher over his three-year career, plus another six times as a receiver. Overall, Bowden corralled 114 passes for the Wildcats. He also returned 71 kickoffs in college, averaging 22.9 yards per return. 

The 24-year-old can run the ball. He can catch the ball. He can throw the ball. He can return kicks too. And he just so happened to play for the team that the Patriots will play in Week 1.

Bowden sounds like the kind of versatile player that Bill Belichick loves, and a really solid addition to a practice squad.