Second-round draft pick Da'Quan Bowers appeared on 620 WDAE today to talk about the Buccaneers. Right at the outset of the interview, he let it be known that he was fully healed as far as he's concerned. "My knee is great," he said. "It's back to playing shape. I've been rehabbing and working out all throughout the summer, even throughout the lockout. The knee is fine. I'm running, cutting, jumping. Everything is full go." While Dr. James Andrews did say that the Clemson defensive end had suffered some damage to his knee, it wasn't anything that would prevent him from having a "great career".
When asked why Bowers with a fully-healed knee wasn't at any of the offseason workouts, Bowers simply pointed to his injury rehab. He also noted that he was concerned about injuring himself in those workouts. That is a legitimate concern, especially for someone who's coming off major knee surgery. However, it does beg the question: if his knee is full go, why did he need to miss the Bucs' mini-camp for his rehab?
Still, there's no reason to think Da'Quan Bowers won't be able to make an early impact for the Buccaneers if he's healthy. His combination of speed and size is impressive, but his game is all about leverage and hand use, and that translates very well to the NFL. Throughout the interview Bowers sounded like a motivated player who really wants to make an impact. Hopefully this positive news about Bowers' knee injury is not a mirage, and he really is ready to go, because the Buccaneers are going to need him.