Raiders’ Mike Mayock: Lynn Bowden trade a football decision

Raiders general manager Mike Mayock said Sunday his surprising decision to trade third-round draft pick Lynn Bowden to the Miami Dolphins on Saturday was all about Bowden’s performance and had nothing to do with off-the-field issues.

“Character off the field, the kid did absolutely nothing wrong,” Mayock said in a conference call with reporters on Sunday, addressing reports that Bowden had not meshed well with his teammates.

“It was my call,” Mayock said. “He was not able to play at the level expected. And because of that, we felt like we had to make a move. And again, it’s a hundred percent on me.”

It was apparent throughout camp that Bowden was slow to make the transition from college wide receiver and quarterback at Kentucky to NFL running back.

“I think the position change is a difficult one in any year, but it’s exaggerated in a COVID year with no offseason,” Mayock said. “So you’re taking a kid that was a slot receiver in (2018), a quarterback in (2019) and they asked him to play running back in (2020.)”

Bowden was competing for a roster spot at both running back and as a punt and kickoff returner.

Mayock stressed the Raiders had no issues with Bowden personally.

“We did all our homework on the kid, off the field,” Mayock said. “He worked his tail off. He came to work every day. So this was completely a football decision, had nothing to do with anything else.”

But a high-ranking executive from an NFL team said the Raiders’ abrupt turnaround on Bowden was telling.

“Sometimes you just know with a young player,” the executive said. “Losing a third-round pick isn’t a huge deal. But the fact you don’t even want to work with him is more damning.”

The Raiders finalized their 53-man roster on Sunday by moving rookie Tanner Muse to the injured reserve list with an injured toe and re-signing veteran tackle Sam Young, who they released on Saturday.

Young joins an offensive tackle room consisting of starters Kolton Miller and Trent Brown and backup Brandon Parker.

“Obviously we feel really good about our starters,” Mayock said. “Sam Young came in and competed his tail off. Really happy with what he’s done. He’s played both sides in his NFL career. He’s smart. He picked our system up so quickly. So to have a guy with that kind of versatility is really helpful.”

Parker, a 2018 third-round pick out of North Carolina A&T, has struggled when given an opportunity to play over his first two seasons. But he was impressive during training camp and the Raiders still believe in the 6-foot-8, 320-pounder.

“We still think there’s a lot of growth there for Brandon Parker,” Mayock said.

Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore onTwitter