KC Chiefs Cut Dwayne Bowe At Long Last

Wide receiver Dwayne Bowe finally got his walking papers from the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday, just after the team traded with the New Orleans Saints for veteran guard Ben Grubbs. ESPN’s Adam Schefter first tweeted the news on Thursday:

Chiefs releasing WR Dwayne Bowe today.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 12, 2015

Dwayne Bowe tweeted a long farewell to Chiefs fans here.

Grubbs still has two years and $13.9 million remaining on his contract, including a $6.6 million salary plus workout bonus in 2015, according to website Over-the-Cap.

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The KC Chiefs likely needed Dwayne Bowe’s cap space to add Ben Grubbs to the roster.

Axing Bowe should free up $10 million in 2015 cap room, if the Chiefs designate him a post-June 1 cut as expected. If Kansas City Chiefs general manager John Dorsey elects to take the entire cap hit this season, cutting Bowe will save $5 million with $9 million in dead money.

Dwayne Bowe seemed to anticipate the move, after following the New England Patriots official account Monday on Twitter:

Dwayne Bowe’s departure comes amid a major reshaping to the KC Chiefs roster by John Dorsey. Not only did Dorsey sign Jeremy Maclin to replace Bowe as the Chiefs’ no. 1 wide-receiver, he also acquired veteran guards Paul Fanaika and Ben Grubbs to shore up his leaky offensive line.

These moves should help the health, and productivity, of quarterback Alex Smith; they also should create more room for running back Jamaal Charles.

Looking back at Dwayne Bowe’s time in Kansas City, he only had one truly dominant season. That came in 2010, when Bowe led the NFL in touchdowns with 15, on 72 receptions and 1,162 yards. Bowe earned the only Pro-Bowl berth in his eight-year Chiefs career that season.

Dwayne Bowe was long on promise with his size, and run after-after-the-catch ability, but he was never a polished route runner nor was he particularly quick out of his breaks.

Those two weaknesses were highlighted in Andy Reid‘s West Coast system, which is likely why Bowe never really shined after former coach Todd Haley lost the head coaching job.

Even so, Bowe finishes his career as the second best wide receiver in KC Chiefs history behind Otis Taylor.

You have to think that the Kansas City Chiefs got their money’s worth from their 23rd overall pick in the 2007 draft.

DWAYNE BOWE’S CAREER STATS

	Games	Receiving
Year	Age	Tm	Pos	No.	G	GS	Tgt	Rec	Yds	Y/R	TD	Lng	R/G	Y/G	Fmb
2007	23	KAN	WR	82	16	15	116	70	995	14.2	5	58	4.4	62.2	0
2008	24	KAN	WR	82	16	16	157	86	1022	11.9	7	36	5.4	63.9	0
2009	25	KAN	WR	82	11	9	87	47	589	12.5	4	41	4.3	53.5	1
2010*	26	KAN	WR	82	16	16	133	72	1162	16.1	15	75	4.5	72.6	1
2011	27	KAN	WR	82	16	14	142	81	1159	14.3	5	52	5.1	72.4	1
2012	28	KAN	WR	82	13	12	114	59	801	13.6	3	47	4.5	61.6	1
2013	29	KAN	WR	82	15	15	103	57	673	11.8	5	34	3.8	44.9	0
2014	30	KAN	te/WR	82	15	15	95	60	754	12.6	0	37	4.0	50.3	2
Career					118	112	947	532	7155	13.4	44	75	4.5	60.6	6

Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/12/2015.

Next: KC Chiefs trade 5th round pick to acquire G Ben Grubbs

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