He played college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions and was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the third round of the 2010 NFL draft.

He started sports at a young age and was a member of District Heights boys and girls club, where he played both basketball and football and was invited to many All-star Events.

[1] Bowman missed most of his senior season with a shoulder injury, but had a very impressive junior campaign in which he recorded 165 tackles, nine sacks, and three fumble recoveries as a linebacker and ran for 1,200 yards and 22 touchdowns as a running back.

[2] Bowman saw increased playing time in 2008, largely due to the graduation of All-American linebacker Dan Connor and injury to presumptive starter Sean Lee.

He played against Southern California in the 2009 Rose Bowl the day after his high school coach, Nick Lynch, was killed in an automobile accident in Maryland.

For his superb efforts against USC, Bowman was selected to ESPN.com's 2008–09 All-Bowl team, one of two Big Ten players named to the squad.

[4] On January 4, 2010, Bowman's mother announced his decision to forgo his final year of NCAA eligibility and enter the 2010 NFL draft.

[7] Bowman played in all 16 games in 2010, starting one in place of Patrick Willis, who was ruled out for Week 17 after undergoing a second surgery on his broken right hand.

[16] In the regular-season finale against the St. Louis Rams, Bowman recorded a team-high 10 tackles, a pass deflection, and a sack in the 34–27 road victory.

[17] Starting in all 16 games and playing alongside All-Pro linebacker Patrick Willis, Bowman made huge strides and finished his second professional season with 143 tackles, two sacks, eight pass deflections, and three fumble recoveries.

With the emergence in his play, Bowman helped a top-ranked 49ers defense set an NFL single-season record of not allowing a rushing touchdown for 14 games.

[citation needed] The 49ers finished the 2011 season atop the NFC West with a 13–3 record and earned a first-round bye in the playoffs as the #2-seed.

[22] During the season-opening 30–22 road victory over the Green Bay Packers, Bowman recorded a team-high 11 tackles, two pass deflections, and his first NFL interception off of Aaron Rodgers.

[32] Bowman finished the 2012 season with 148 tackles, two sacks, six pass deflections, a forced fumble, and an interception in 16 games and starts.

[34] During the NFC Championship Game against Atlanta Falcons, Bowman had four tackles and a pass deflection in the 28–24 comeback road victory as the 49ers advanced to Super Bowl XLVII.

[39] During a Week 4 35–11 road victory over the Rams, Bowman recorded six tackles, a pass deflection, and his first two sacks of the season on Sam Bradford (one was a strip-sack).

[50] They beat the Packers on the road by a score of 23–20 during the Wild Card Round in which Bowman had a team-high 10 tackles and a forced fumble.

[51] In the Divisional Round of the playoffs, the 49ers beat the Panthers on the road by a score of 23–10 behind a strong performance by Bowman, who recorded a team-high 11 tackles and a sack.

[52] During the NFC Championship Game against the Seahawks, he recorded a team-high 14 tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble before leaving the eventual 23–17 road loss in the fourth quarter with a serious knee injury.

[65] Bowman finished the 2015 season with a career-high and league-leading 154 tackles, 2.5 sacks, two pass deflections, and a forced fumble in 16 games and starts.

[68] Bowman began the season strong, recording a team-high nine tackles, a pass deflection, and an interception during the season-opening 28–0 shutout victory over the Los Angeles Rams.

[71] During a Week 4 24–17 loss to the Cowboys, Bowman recorded eight tackles and a sack before falling down and gripping the lower back end of his left foot in the third quarter.

During that time, NaVorro was a key component of one of the best teams in the League and his passion for the game allowed him to quickly become a favorite of our Faithful fans.

[78] Bowman made his Raiders debut during the narrow Week 7 31–30 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs, recording a team-high 11 tackles.

[81] During a Week 12 21–14 victory over the Denver Broncos, Bowman recorded seven tackles, a pass deflection, and intercepted a pass from quarterback Paxton Lynch in the end zone, giving the Raiders their first interception of the year after not having one in their first 11 weeks under defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr.[82][83] In the next game against the Giants, Bowman had a team-high nine tackles and a fumble recovery in the 24–17 victory.

[84] The following week against the Chiefs, he recorded a team-high eight tackles, a pass deflection, and his first sack of the season as the Raiders lost on the road by a score of 26–15.

[88] In 15 games on the 49ers and Raiders rosters during the 2017 season, Bowman accumulated 127 tackles, three pass deflections, 1.5 sacks, a fumble recovery, and an interception.