Chiefs Sign Bowe, Colquitt To Long Term Deals

The Chiefs were busy yesterday, reaching long-term agreements with wide receiver Dwayne Bowe and punter Dustin Colquitt. The team has also decided to place the franchise tag on tackle Branden Albert.

Bowe’s deal is for five years and $56 million with $26 million guaranteed. The contract makes Bowe the second highest paid receiver in the NFL behind Calvin Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald. During the season, it appeared that Bowe’s days as a Chief were numbered, as he suggested that he would like toplay for a winner and it was clear that the Chiefs were about to enter a massive rebuilding project. Despite all that, Bowe has been very productive in his career, and the team is extremely thin at WR without him in the lineup.

Bowe wasn’t the only Chief who hit it big yesterday – Dustin Colquitt became the highest-paid punter in the NFL when Kansas City inked him to a five year, $18.75 million deal with $8.9 million guaranteed. There is no denying that Colquitt is an elite NFL punter – last season, he placed 42 punts inside opponents’ 20-yard line (two short of the NFL record) and he has continuously bailed the team out of bad field position when the offense stalls. Despite Colquitt’s talent, that is a lot of money to give to a punter – especially when the Chiefs are rebuilding for the future and not in a “win-now” mentality.

The third and final big move the Chiefs made was placing the franchise tag on left tackle Branden Albert. The former first round pick has started 71 games for Kansas City and has slowly developed into one of the better tackles in the league. It was rumored that the Chiefs were strongly considering drafting tackle Luke Joeckel, and it is unknown at this time if resigning Albert will change that.

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Dwayne Bowe Injury - Career With Chiefs Likely Over

Chiefs WR Dwayne Bowe left Sunday’s game against the Browns with a rib injury, and now appears to be out for the season. Bowe finished the season with 59 catches for 801 yards and three touchdowns, respectable numbers considering the struggles the team had with its quarterback play. The question now is this: Has Bowe played his last game as a Kansas City Chief?

All signs point towards the answer of this question being “yes.” Bowe’s relationship with the organization went south this offseason, when the team refused to sign him to a long-term contract and placed the franchise tag on him. As a result, Bowe held out during the preseason, and did not sign his franchise tender until the regular season was about to begin.

Bowe is a free agent at the end of the season, and most speculate that he will try to sign with a winning team. Not only does Bowe want to play for a winner, he will want a long-term deal and a lucrative contract similar to what other top receivers in the league are getting.

What is disappointing for Chiefs fans is that Bowe may potentially walk and the team will get no compensation for him. It was reported earlier this season that Bowe was pushing for a trade out of Kansas City, and there were several teams interested in his services. The team should have dealt Bowe to a team desperate for a WR and gotten a valuable draft pick back in return, especially since it was apparent after only a few weeks this season that the team was heading towards a terrible record.

Bowe was drafted by the Chiefs in the first round of the 2007 NFL draft, and has 415 career catches for 5,728 yards and 39 touchdowns.

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Dwayne Bowe Pushing For Trade Out Of Kansas City

Reports are surfacing that Chiefs wide receiver Dwayne Bowe is pushing hard for an exit from Kansas City. With the Chiefs tied for the worst record in the NFL, many predict that the team will deal Bowe in an effort to blow things up and gain a draft pick or young players in return.

This really shouldn’t be a surprise to Chiefs fans, as Bowe did not receive a long-term deal from the franchise in the off-season. Bowe was given the franchise tag, and reluctantly signed his deal just a few weeks before the regular season started. Now that the Chiefs are 1-5, there is no long-term contract binding Bowe to spend his future with a bad team. Bowe will also be an unrestricted free agent this summer, and at this point it seems like there is no chance of him signing a deal in Kansas City.

With Bowe’s days in Kansas City numbered, it makes sense that the team would trade him now to get something back in return. The biggest team being mentioned in trade rumors are the Miami Dolphins, who have some draft picks to deal after picking up extra second and third round picks by trading Vontae Davis and Brandon Marshall. The Dolphins have talent at running back and spent an early first-round pick on QB Ryan Tannehill, yet have few playmakers at receiver. Bowe would give Tannehill a big body to throw to, and would immediately push the Dolphins into the playoff picture. Miami is tied for first in the AFC East, and with how bad the entire AFC has been this season, they would have a great shot to make the postseason.

If the Chiefs make this move, it is clear they are planning for the future. The team already has a poor passing game, and losing its top wide out would cripple the KC offense. The Chiefs invested a first round pick two drafts ago in Jonathan Baldwin, however the young receiver hasn’t done much so far in Kansas City.

The Chiefs had an opportunity to wrap Bowe up this offseason, but failed to offer him a long-term deal. It is clear that Bowe will be leaving Kansas City once the regular season ends, and it is important for the Chiefs to get something of value in return.

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Kansas City Chiefs-Seattle Seahawks Preview

The third preseason game is considered by football fans and players to be the most important, as teams traditionally play their starters for the majority of the game and treat the contest more like the regular season. The Chiefs third preseason game is tonight, when the team will host the Seattle Seahawks.

It has been an up-and-down preseason so far for Kansas City - the team looked very sharp in its opening game win against the Arizona Cardinals yet struggled in its second game in a loss against the St. Louis Rams. The biggest story line for the Chiefs is the newly-signed Dwayne Bowe and what role he will play. Bowe recently signed his franchise tender after skipping the team’s entire offseason program and the first two preseason games, so he has had only a few days to learn the new playbook. While he likely will only see a few series, head coach Romeo Crennel has indicated that Bowe will see the field.

Bowe isn’t the only big story line for tonight’s game. The Chiefs are still sorting out some position battles, particularly at back-up quarterback. Brady Quinn and Ricky Stanzi have been battling for the number two spot all preseason, and it appears that Quinn likely has the upper-hand to be next-in-line after Matt Cassel. Cassel has had some injury problems in the past, which makes the team’s QB2 battle intriguing.

Seattle raised a few eyebrows this week when it announced that rookie quarterback Russell Wilson would start the all-important third preseason game. Wilson, a third-round draft pick out of Wisconsin, has played well this preseason, and it appears he has a legitimate shot to win the starting job in Seattle. Most thought that Matt Flynn, who was signed as a free agent to a lucrative deal, would earn the position. Flynn has spent his career spelling NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay, and looked impressive filling in for the Rodgers when he was hurt for a game in 2011 and didn’t play the team’s regular season finale last year as they had already locked up the top playoff seed. The Seahawks will likely be watching both very closely tonight, with the regular season only a couple weeks away.

Game time tonight at Arrowhead Stadium is 7:00 p.m. The Chiefs will wrap up their preseason next Thursday, when the team travels to Lambeau Field to play the Packers.

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Kansas City Chiefs 2012 Training Camp Preview

The Chiefs’ 2012 training camp is approaching, which means that a new NFL season is just around the corner. The team’s camp will be presented by Heartland Health at Missouri Western State University located in St. Joseph, MO and will begin tomorrow. The camp will run through Aug. 16, with outdoor practices open to the public (indoor practices due to inclement weather will not be open to the public). A full list of the team’s training camp schedule can be found here.

The Chiefs will host a night practice at Spratt Stadium on Tuesday, July 31 at 7:15 p.m. The Chiefs annual Family Fun Day presented by American Family Insurance will be held on Saturday, Aug. 4 at 1:30 p.m. at Spratt Stadium. Missouri Western will charge a $5 admission fee with no charge for children ages three and under.

This will be a critical camp for the team, as the Chiefs are installing a completely new offense under new offensive coordinator Brian Daboll. Several new starters will also need to be integrated into the system, most center Rodney Hudson and right tackle Eric Winston. While Dwayne Bowe is still absent, last year’s first round pick Jonathan Baldwin will have an opportunity to continue to impress coaches and teammates and acquire a bigger role in the offense.

One of the biggest goals the Chiefs have is to simply get healthy – on offense, Jamaal Charles, Matt Cassel and Tony Moeaki are all returning from season ending injuries. Defensively, Eric Berry is also back, and will try to build on the promise he showed during a pro-bowl caliber rookie campaign.

The most interesting position battle may be at quarterback – where newly signed Brady Quinn will battle with 2011 fifth-round pick Ricky Stanzi for the backup spot behind Matt Cassel. Given Cassel’s injury history and his inconsistent play, there is a chance that more than one signal-caller leads the team during the regular season.

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Chiefs Fail To Reach Long-Term Deal With Dwayne Bowe

The Chiefs and Dwayne Bowe had until 3:00 p.m. yesterday to reach a long-term contract agreement, and both sides were unable to strike a deal. That now means that Bowe will now have to agree to play the 2012 season with a one year deal worth $9.5 million.

Bowe has officially been holding out since Kansas City slapped the franchise tag on him in March, and he has refused to sign the one-year tender the Chiefs have offered, holding out for a long-term deal with more money guaranteed. Bowe has been the Chiefs leading receiver over the past two seasons, and made the pro bowl after his stellar 2010 campaign. He reportedly was looking for a contract similar to the one Vincent Jackson received from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers – $55 million over 5 years – although it was highly unlikely from the start that the Chiefs would commit to that amount of money.

It is hard to predict the outcome of this situation, as many are unsure of how badly the Chiefs want to sign Bowe to a long-term contract. Bowe has had his ups and downs, but there is no denying his productivity recently, despite some inconsistent play from his quarterbacks. However, the Chiefs will have a lot of players to resign in 2013 when the contracts of Branden Albert, Jovan Belcher, Glenn Dorsey, Brandon Siler and Dustin Colquitt are all up, which means Kansas City might want to have some cap flexibility. Also keep in mind that the Chiefs selected Jonathan Baldwin in the first round last year, and have beefed up their WR depth over the last two offseasons.

In the meantime, the ball is in Bowe’s court. He can sign for one season and negotiate with the Chiefs later, or he can continue to hold out and opt not to play this year. No matter where you stand on Bowe and what he deserves, one thing is certain – Kansas City is a much better football team with him on the field.

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Chiefs Start Minicamp Without Dwayne Bowe

Kansas City started its mandatory three-day minicamp yesterday with one glaring absence: All-Pro wide receiver Dwayne Bowe. The Chiefs’ wide out has yet to sign his franchise tender, which means he is currently not under contract and is not required to participate in these drills.

Bowe is coming off his second consecutive productive season, catching 81 passes last year for 1,159 yards and five touchdowns. Bowe was able to produce despite injuries and inconsistency in the Chiefs’ QB rotation, and he is obviously a huge part of Kansas City’s offense.

There are several troubling factors to Bowe’s current holdout. First, there is no guarantee of when the WR will join his teammates. Bowe could be on the practice field when training camp starts in a little over a month or the day before the Chiefs first game – there is no current time table. Also, Kansas City is installing a new offense under new offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, which many Chiefs players have deemed as being somewhat complex. Hopefully Bowe will be able to join the team soon and have enough time to pick up the new offense. Kansas City cannot afford a repeat of last year, when the Chiefs had an absolutely dreadful start to the regular season, and needs all its players on the same page.

One silver lining of Bowe’s absence is that second year Jonathan Baldwin has been able to receive more reps. Baldwin, last year’s first round draft pick, missed last offseason due to the NFL lock out, and has reportedly made some big strides in training camp.

Several other Kansas City players also missed the minicamp due to injuries. Eric Berry, Jamaal Charles and Tony Moeaki all sat out due while they recover from injuries sustained last season, while rookie WR Devon Wylie missed practice due to an injured hamstring.

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