Washington Redskins Release DE Stephen Bowen

Scot McCloughan made his first free agent signing as GM of the Washington Redskins by acquiring his former draft pick, DE Ricky Jean-Francois, with a 3 year, $9 million contract.  Today it's being reported that he's cut the another player on the defensive line, releasing DE Stephen Bowen.  Bowen has long been on the radar as a possible cap casualty, and many people were surprised when he was not released last season after having microfracture surgery on his knee.  The Redskins instead decided to renegotiate his contract, saving over $2 million against the cap last year.  Bowen started the seen on the Physically Unable to Perform(PUP) list, and returned to the team in Week 7.  The renegotiated number only affected last year's deal and he still has a large cap hit this year($8.02 million).  The Redskins save $5.5 million by releasing him, but also carry $2.52 million in dead cap money.

Stephen Bowen was signed in 2011 to a 5 year, $27.5 million contract after spending his first 5 years in the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys.  Bowen started every game his first two years with the team, but a knee injury in 2013 forced him to miss the final 6 games.  With the Cofield and Bowen cuts, the Redskins have cleared almost $10 million in cap space, and should have $25-30 million to spend with a projected cap of $143 million and no additional moves.

Source: Over The Cap

ROSTER MOVES: Redskins re-sign T Tom Compton; released DE Stephen Bowen & DL Barry Cofield.

— Washington Redskins (@Redskins) February 27, 2015