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Rainer Sabin / Reporter
These days, Stephen Bowen is faced with plenty of uncertainty. As the lockout slogs through late spring, the Cowboys defensive end appears to be drifting toward a crossroads in his career.
The system in which he has played the last four seasons is in the process of being overhauled at the same time his status on the open market is subject to change.
Under the previous collective bargaining agreement forged by the players and owners, Bowen is a restricted free agent with five years of service. Before the lockout went into effect in March, the Cowboys extended Bowen a second-round tender worth approximately $1.9 million.
But if a new CBA is negotiated with different terms, that offer could be nullified and Bowen could become an unrestricted free agent. Bowen understands the ambiguity of his situation but he hasn't wasted much time dwelling on it.
"There's nothing I can do," Bowen said. "Hopefully it works itself out and a player in my position will get a chance to get a second deal."
Based on how his offseason has transpired, it appears that Bowen expects his next contract will be drawn up by the Cowboys regardless of what system is instituted when the new CBA is finalized.
After all, he has been working out at a shuttered Hummer dealership in Grapevine, where outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware has created a makeshift gym that has attracted many of Bowen's teammates, including Jason Hatcher, Anthony Spencer and Victor Butler. As they have lifted weights and maintained their fitness, Bowen and the other Cowboys players have also invested time studying the nuances of new defensive coordinator Rob Ryan's scheme.
"Everybody is trying to get in shape and make sure we learn the defense," Bowen said.
In the previous system coordinated by former coach Wade Phillips, Bowen excelled, even though his accomplishments often went unnoticed and his quantifiable output was rather unimpressive.
In 2010, for instance, he collected only 22 tackles and 1.5 sacks - statistics that normally wouldn't deserve mention. But in Bowen's case, the numbers don't tell the whole story. Among NFL defensive ends who played in a 3-4 base, Bowen was rated the third-most effective by Pro Football Focus.
According to the website, he was able to pressure the quarterback on 27 of the 389 plays when he rushed the passer - faring well after starter Marcus Spears tore his left-calf muscle in November.
"For our position in the 3-4 defense, it's very hard for us to be the focal point," explained Bowen, who signed with the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2006. "The linebackers generally flow and make the plays."
That probably won't change under Ryan, whose defense Bowen is eager to master as he awaits to find out whether he or the Cowboys will decide his future.
These days, Stephen Bowen is faced with plenty of uncertainty. As the lockout slogs through late spring, the Cowboys defensive end appears to be drifting toward a crossroads in his career.
The system in which he has played the last four seasons is in the process of being overhauled at the same time his status on the open market is subject to change.
Under the previous collective bargaining agreement forged by the players and owners, Bowen is a restricted free agent with five years of service. Before the lockout went into effect in March, the Cowboys extended Bowen a second-round tender worth approximately $1.9 million.
But if a new CBA is negotiated with different terms, that offer could be nullified and Bowen could become an unrestricted free agent. Bowen understands the ambiguity of his situation but he hasn't wasted much time dwelling on it.
"There's nothing I can do," Bowen said. "Hopefully it works itself out and a player in my position will get a chance to get a second deal."
Based on how his offseason has transpired, it appears that Bowen expects his next contract will be drawn up by the Cowboys regardless of what system is instituted when the new CBA is finalized.
After all, he has been working out at a shuttered Hummer dealership in Grapevine, where outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware has created a makeshift gym that has attracted many of Bowen's teammates, including Jason Hatcher, Anthony Spencer and Victor Butler. As they have lifted weights and maintained their fitness, Bowen and the other Cowboys players have also invested time studying the nuances of new defensive coordinator Rob Ryan's scheme.
"Everybody is trying to get in shape and make sure we learn the defense," Bowen said.
In the previous system coordinated by former coach Wade Phillips, Bowen excelled, even though his accomplishments often went unnoticed and his quantifiable output was rather unimpressive.
In 2010, for instance, he collected only 22 tackles and 1.5 sacks - statistics that normally wouldn't deserve mention. But in Bowen's case, the numbers don't tell the whole story. Among NFL defensive ends who played in a 3-4 base, Bowen was rated the third-most effective by Pro Football Focus.
According to the website, he was able to pressure the quarterback on 27 of the 389 plays when he rushed the passer - faring well after starter Marcus Spears tore his left-calf muscle in November.
"For our position in the 3-4 defense, it's very hard for us to be the focal point," explained Bowen, who signed with the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2006. "The linebackers generally flow and make the plays."
That probably won't change under Ryan, whose defense Bowen is eager to master as he awaits to find out whether he or the Cowboys will decide his future.