Da'Quan Bowers to compete at defensive tackle

Da'Quan Bowers has been signed not to play defensive end, but defensive tackle, Jason Licht told JoeBucsFan yesterday.

"No assurances. It was a low-risk thing for us so he can compete at defensive tackle," Licht said of Bowers. "He's got some familiarity. You know, I think he's been humbled."

With Gerald McCoy, Henry Melton and Clinton McDonald basically guaranteed roster spots, Bowers is going to have a hard time making the roster. He'll have to beat out Akeem Spence, and will have to be more valuable than players like William Gholston who can play on the outside and inside. In fact, with George Johnson having played inside as well, the Bucs could very well decided to keep just three defensive tackles on the roster.

That said, Bowers isn't out of the competition. He's a more disruptive presence at defensive tackle than Akeem Spence, who's mostly just a run-stopper, and he did flash at the position repeatedly last year. Bowers has a lot of physical talent, but never managed to turn that into a consistent, disruptive presence for the Bucs, despite being relatively productive in the limited snaps he was given.

I'd be skeptical of any claims that he'll suddenly turn into a valuable player, though. That happens very rarely after the kind of career Bowers has had.