New England Patriots sign Lynn Bowden Jr. to a future contract

The New England Patriots came, saw about it, and want some more. Robert Craft’s team signed their practice squad extraordinaire, Lynn Bowden Jr., to a future contract on Monday, locking him up for the 2023 season.

What is a future contract, you ask? Essentially, teams can sign any player who was not on an active roster in Week 18 to a future contract the next season. Teams often do this for young, talented players to make sure no other team scoops them up during the offseason. The contract does not guarantee a spot on the team’s active roster (or even the practice squad) but future contracts show that a team is very confident in a player’s, well, future.

Bowden has bounced around a bit after being misused as a running back by the Raiders, which drafted him in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft. The former Wildcat racked up 211 receiving yards for the Miami Dolphins during his rookie campaign but spent the entire 2021 season on IR.

Even though he scored a touchdown during this year’s preseason, Miami cut him, but the New England Patriots picked him up where he served on the practice squad for most of this season. The team called him up to the active roster for the Patriots’ November 6th game against the Indianapolis Colts where Bowden played 14 offensive snaps but did not receive a target.

Bowden set a hoard of records at the University of Kentucky, most notably the single-game rushing record against the Louisville Cardinals when he dashed for 284 yards. He played quarterback, wide receiver, kick returner, and excelled at every position on the field. Signing him to a future contract is a step in the right direction of seeing Bowden making big plays on a football field once again.