Report: Some coaches want to cut Dwayne Bowe
By Thomas Moore
Jul 30, 2015; Berea, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns wide receiver Dwayne Bowe (80) works out during training camp at the Cleveland Browns practice facility. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Wide receiver Dwayne Bowe was one of the biggest free agent signings by the Cleveland Browns during the offseason.
Bowe, a nine-year veteran, has been hampered by a hamstring injury that limited his availability throughout training camp and the preseason, and landed him on the inactive list for last week’s opening game against the Jets.
Now comes a report from Jason La Canfora a CBS Sports that “some on the Browns coaching staff” want to move on from Bowe, but that his contract, which includes $9 million in guaranteed money, is precluding the team from making a move.
Some on Browns staff would be ready to move on from Bowe already. Contract precludes it for now: http://t.co/lwvRYKqoIr
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) September 20, 2015
As with most things Browns related from La Canfora, you have to take news like this with a grain of salt. An unquestioned apologist for former Cleveland general manager Mike Lombardi, La Canfora never misses a chance to paint the Browns with a dysfunctional brush.
His latest story only includes the usual unnamed source as confirmation that there is a problem, and after the hatchet jobs he has done on the franchise since Lombardi and Joe Banner were fired, it is safe to say that La Canfora’s source is nowhere near team headquarters in Berea.
Having said that, Bowe has certainly been a disappointment so far in terms of on-the-field activity. It is nice that he has been very open about mentoring the younger receivers on the Browns, but at some point the club obviously wants to see a return on its financial investment.
But even in the current culture of instant gratification that consumes are culture, releasing Bowe after just one week into the season seems a bit extreme. The Browns have invested time and money into him, there’s no real reason to move on at this point.
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Bowe also, at least in published reports, hasn’t come across as a disgruntled veteran who is causing trouble in the locker room and he seems to be as frustrated at his situation as everyone else.
“My job is to make sure I am the best at what I do on and off the field,” he said this week. “It is a major role I play and contribute to. Just going out and doing it on Sunday is all I can control and worry about.”
Would it be great for the team to have Bowe on the field on Sundays? Sure. Is it going to shake the foundation of the franchise if he is inactive again this week? Of course not. And he is certainly not the only veteran NFL player holding a roster spot in part because of his contract.
While this may be a story down the road, for now it seems, like much of what La Canfora writes about the Browns, much ado about nothing.