The Cleveland Browns added wide receiver Dwayne Bowe. He agreed to a two-year deal with the team earlier this week. The terms of his contract weren’t announced. This is an interesting pick-up by Cleveland. The Browns needed a number one, wide receiver. Their star Josh Gordon was suspended one year for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy again in January. He has been a repeat offender. How can Dwayne Bowe fill Gordon’s shoes?
Gordon played three seasons for the Cleveland Browns. 2013 was his breakout year. He caught 87 passes for 1,646 yards and 9 touchdowns. Last year, his production went down but he still had 47 catches for 303 yards but no touchdowns. He played in only five games. Even though he didn’t have a great year last year, he still showed he could be the Browns’ number one receiver.
With Gordon out, Dwayne Bowe now becomes the big weapon on offense. He has played in the NFL since 2007 with the Kansas City Chiefs. He eclipsed the 1,000 yard receiving mark three times. Last year, he had a productive year with 754 receiving yards. He didn’t have a touchdown pass for the first time in his career. Then again, none of the Kansas City receivers caught a touchdown.
This move helps the Cleveland Browns. They now have an experienced number one receiver in Bowe. He rarely drops the ball in the open field and will move the chains for first downs. With him out on the field, the Browns won’t miss Gordon because Bowe is a better receiver. He may not have the speed of Josh Gordon but is a dangerous receiver who can score touchdowns.
The Browns have a quarterback problem. There is going to be a quarterback competition between Johnny Manziel and Josh McCown. As it stands right now, it’s Manziel’s job to lose. McCown will give him a run to earn the starting job. Whoever the quarterback is will need to give Bowe the ball early and often.
Cleveland is still a few players away from competing in the AFC North Division. Adding Bowe is a step in the right direction. They hope to improve on last years 7-9 record.
How will Bowe help the Browns this upcoming football season?
Every team has made some major changes. Every team. We won’t know until mid season who made good decisions. Should be interesting.