Saints Host Two Tryout Receivers At First Minicamp Practice

Lynn Bowden Jr. and Keke Coutee get a chance to show what they’ve got at Saints minicamp.

Minicamps around the league provide opportunities for more than just the players in an individual roster, but also to those looking for opportunities. The New Orleans Saints wasted no time in that respect hosting two free agent wide receivers during their first practice of mandatory minicamp. 

Aug 14, 2021; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Miami Dolphins running back Lynn Bowden (6) carries the ball during a preseason game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Eileen T. Meslar-USA TODAY Sports

New Orleans welcomed wideouts Lynn Bowden Jr. and Keke Coutee on Tuesday. Bowden was drafted by the Las Vegas Raiders, but was traded to the Miami Dolphins the very same offseason. A curious decision by the Raiders who invested a third-round pick in the Kentucky product. He also spend the 2022 season with the New England Patriots.  

Meanwhile, Coutee was a fourth-round by the Houston Texans in 2018. By the 2021 season the receiver had joined and has since been with the Indianapolis Colts. Not as tumultuous a tenure with his selecting team as Bowden. 

Both players have notable return ability, something head coach Dennis Allen referenced about their tryouts with the Saints. “Certainly their value as a returner,” Allen said. “Is part of why we brought them in here to evaluate.” Allen also made it clear that the tryouts were not necessarily connected to wideout Rashid Shaheed being out with a groin injury.

Neither players has had eye-popping production at the NFL level just yet. Coutee has amassed 85 catches for 966 receiving yards and 4 touchdown receptions in five seasons. He also added a rushing touchdown early in his career. Bowden on the other hand has brought in just 28 receptions for 211 receiving yards and no touchdown catches. He has also added just 9 rushes for 32 rushing yards. 

Aug 14, 2021; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Miami Dolphins running back Lynn Bowden (6) carries the ball during a preseason game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Eileen T. Meslar-USA TODAY Sports

Despite the lower-than-anticipated numbers in the league this far, Bowden is by far one of the most explosive collegiate players of this decade. During his final year at Kentucky he totaled 1,816 combined rushing and receiving yards along with 14 rushing and receiving touchdowns. He also stepped in at quarterback due to injuries wherein he completed 35 passes for 403 passing yards, 3 touchdowns tosses and 3 interceptions. That versatility is exactly what led to him being a third-round pick in the first place. However, his departure from the Raiders was not a tidy one. 

The Raiders wanted to move him to running back and utilize him in a Taysom Hill-like role allowing him to take some snaps at quarterback as well. Former Las Vegas offensive coordinator Greg Olson laid it out clearly before his trade to Miami. ““You see the game changing from year to year,” Olson said. “The use of the RPOs and the use of the Taysom Hills, those type of players that played the RPO-style offense in college. They become valuable. We believe that he can transition and be a running back, as well as do some of those plays at the quarterback position that he did in college." Olson, of course, was also Saints quarterback Derek Carr's former offensive coordinator. 

But his sentiment regarding Bowden along with some unnecessary concerns around his past led to a disappointing end with the Raiders. Now Bowden, along with Coutee, could be looking at their next chance to meet their high expectations in the Big Easy. Should they make it through minicamp and on to training camp next month, they will join a crowded wide receiver room. But they will also fall in with a team that bases their depth chart on ability, not draft status or NFL transaction history. It could be a clean slate for both players looking for a fresh start.