Bowe May Sign Franchise Tender, Says Report
According to Pro Football Talk, there are rumors that CHiefs WR Dwayne Bowe will sign his franchise tender today.
"A league source tells PFT that there is chatter in league circles that Chiefs receiver Dwayne Bowe is considering signing his franchise tender due to concerns that the Chiefs will use their first-round pick on a receiver, and then strip the franchise tag from Bowe."
The Chiefs would be able to rescind the offer because Bowe hasn’t yet signed the deal. That would make Bowe an unrestricted free agent immediately and he’d be free to sign with any team. The only problem is that Bowe’s value is somewhat decreased now that teams have done most of their free agency shopping and are in the midst of draft mode. Even if Bowe were to be cut loose, teams needing help at WR might hold off on signing him to a lucrative long-term deal at least until after they see what they can get in the draft. There are a lot of WRs with draftable grades this year so the market is about to get flooded with around 70 new wideouts. That is bad for Bowe’s market.
Bowe exercised his leverage by not showing up to the voluntary workouts the last two weeks. I was fine with that. I can’t blame him for the move. I also can’t blame the Chiefs for floating to Bowe’s camp that they might take a receiver in the first round. They’ve offered Bowe $9 million to play in Kansas City next season. If he doesn’t want to take it right now, they have to at least let him think they could replace him.
The smart move for both parties would be for Bowe to sign the tender. He locks up a guaranteed $9 million this season and the Chiefs buy more time to work out a long-term deal with him. They also won’t have to use a draft pick on a WR.
I think signing now could also benefit Bowe because after the draft, the Chiefs and Bowe’s camp can sit down and work out a longer deal. After all, I doubt the Chiefs want to pay Bowe $9 million for one season if they can avoid it. They’d be much better off, as would Bowe, if they could ink him to a new deal that would not be as expensive year to year against their cap.
This is the business game being interwoven with the draft game. What do you think, Addicts? Should Bowe sign? If he doesn’t, will the Chiefs draft a WR?