# Tim Bowens

Timothy L. Bowens (born February 7, 1973) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle for 11 seasons with the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ole Miss Rebels, and was chosen with the 20th pick of the 1994 NFL draft by the Dolphins.
The Dolphins were initially criticized for picking Bowens, as he was overweight and had played only nine games in his college career at Mississippi. He had a terrific rookie season in 1994, and Bowens was named 'The NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year' by the Associated Press. He played with the Miami Dolphins for 11 years before he retired after the 2004 NFL season. He was inducted into the Miami Dolphins Honor Roll on October 27, 2024.

## Early life

Tim Bowens was born and grew up in Okolona, Mississippi, one of two county seats in rural Chickasaw County. He played football at Okolona High School. He was an All-State pick as a senior and an All-District pick as a junior and senior. As a senior, he led his team to the Class AA semifinals and an 11–2 record. He was also a two-year letter winner in basketball.

## NFL career statistics

Legend :
| Bold | Career high |

### Regular season

| Year | Team | Games | Games | Tackles | Tackles | Tackles | Tackles | Interceptions | Interceptions | Interceptions | Interceptions | Fumbles | Fumbles | Fumbles | Fumbles |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | Comb | Solo | Ast | Sck | Int | Yds | TD | Lng | FF | FR | Yds | TD |
| 1994 | MIA | 16 | 15 | 52 | 44 | 8 | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1995 | MIA | 16 | 16 | 41 | 34 | 7 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1996 | MIA | 16 | 16 | 48 | 41 | 7 | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1997 | MIA | 16 | 16 | 48 | 34 | 14 | 5.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1998 | MIA | 16 | 16 | 30 | 21 | 9 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1999 | MIA | 16 | 15 | 41 | 25 | 16 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2000 | MIA | 15 | 15 | 40 | 28 | 12 | 2.5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2001 | MIA | 15 | 15 | 48 | 30 | 18 | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2002 | MIA | 16 | 16 | 36 | 24 | 12 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2003 | MIA | 13 | 13 | 27 | 20 | 7 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2004 | MIA | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | | 157 | 155 | 414 | 303 | 111 | 22.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 1 |

### Playoffs

| Year | Team | Games | Games | Tackles | Tackles | Tackles | Tackles | Interceptions | Interceptions | Interceptions | Interceptions | Fumbles | Fumbles | Fumbles | Fumbles |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | Comb | Solo | Ast | Sck | Int | Yds | TD | Lng | FF | FR | Yds | TD |
| 1994 | MIA | 2 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1995 | MIA | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1997 | MIA | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1998 | MIA | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1999 | MIA | 2 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2000 | MIA | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2001 | MIA | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | | 10 | 10 | 24 | 16 | 8 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |