Thursday, February 28, 2013
The case for tagging Bowe
By Tom Carpenter
The Kansas City Chiefs have addressed their primary offseason issue by securing a starting quarterback in Alex Smith. They still have the No. 1 pick in the draft and plenty of decisions to make regarding their players who are set for free agency. We discussed yesterday how their eventual decision regarding free agent Branden Albert could tip their hand in regards to how they will use that top pick, but what about their other big-time free agent, wide receiver Dwayne Bowe? Adam Teicher of the Kansas City Star thinks the Chiefs will lock him up.
"The Chiefs have no accomplished wide receiver other than Bowe, their top pass catcher in each of the past four seasons," he wrote. "That makes it likely the Chiefs would retain Bowe either with a long-term contract or by making him the franchise player for the second straight season."
The catch (pun intended) with Bowe is that the club franchised him last year, which means it will cost them $11 million to tag him again. Still, ESPN AFC West blogger Bill Williamson thinks that the Chiefs have little choice but to make sure he is on their roster in 2013:
Bill Williamson
What's next for Kansas City?"They have three key free agents in Dwayne Bowe, left tackle Branden Albert and Pro Bowl punter Dustin Colquitt. The Chiefs want to re-sign all three players. One of the three will likely be given the franchise tag. I think Bowe is the top priority. Smith needs weapons and the Chiefs’ receiving crew outside of Bowe is unproven."
