When the Kansas City Chiefs selected wide receiver Dwayne Bowe with the 23rd overall pick in the 2007 NFL draft, it came as a shock to most. But Bowe has since quieted most skeptics by putting up 356 receptions for 4,927 yards and 36 touchdowns so far.
Making 70 out of a possible 80 starts in his first five seasons, Bowe has become the rock in the Chiefs' passing game, especially since they traded tight end Tony Gonzalez to the Atlanta Falcons in 2009.
The Chiefs placed the franchise tag on Bowe this offseason to buy themselves time to work out a long-term deal. As a result, Bowe is not expected to join his teammates at Arrowhead Stadium for voluntary offseason workouts.
Bowe has given no indication of a holdout just yet, so it’s too early for fans to start losing sleep over his status for the 2012 season. But it’s unknown how the organization plans on approaching this situation.
However, Bowe is making a statement with his absence by demonstrating that he indeed wants a long-term deal.
This leaves the Chiefs with two options. They can either show Bowe their gratitude and commitment going forward, similar to recent signees Tamba Hali, Derrick Johnson and Brandon Flowers, or they can pretend that Bowe is not high on their list of priorities. The latter approach is a risky proposition.
Not only has Bowe been as productive of a receiver as any in franchise history, he now serves as a mentor to last year’s No. 1 pick Jon Baldwin as well.
Without Bowe going forward, the Chiefs would suddenly have an inexperienced, below-average passing attack. With him, along with the return of Jamaal Charles and the additions of tight end Kevin Boss and Eric Winston to shore up the offensive line, the Chiefs could feature one of the more productive offenses in the NFL.
His monster 2010 season, in which he caught 72 passes for 1,162 yards and 15 touchdowns, should have been the wake-up call to the organization that Bowe needs to be a Chief for a very long time. But after another productive campaign in 2011, and Bowe still not signed long term, it leaves the fans and some experts wondering what the Chiefs are waiting for.
It seems like a no-brainer that your No. 1 pass-catching threat, one that could come cheap when compared to other top receivers in the league, be signed immediately. But it is impossible to know what is going on behind closed doors, so to assume absolutely nothing is happening would be unfair to the process.
Although not making the headlines across the league like Mike Wallace, Maurice Jones-Drew or Ray Rice, who are in similar situations, Bowe means just as much to his team as those players do to theirs.
If the Chiefs plan on making their 2010 campaign more of the norm going forward, keeping Bowe in a Chiefs’ uniform is imperative. Not signing him would leave the franchise in a perpetual tailspin of seasons similar to 2011, and nobody wants to stand in line for that roller coaster again.
Contact Jeremy at jeremy@popflyboys.com, on Twitter @KCPopFlyBoy and read more at popflyboys.com.
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