It’s hard to believe that Dwayne Bowe won’t be released by the Kansas City Chiefs at some point in this offseason, and the Baltimore Ravens will be more than happy to sign the veteran wide receiver to help them out.
The Ravens lost Torrey Smith to free agency (signing with the San Francisco 49ers) and are going to need to start filling their wide receiving core. The Ravens are about getting younger so there’s always the draft, but free agency can come up with certain lucrative finds from time to time.
Is Bowe that kind of player? It’s been three consecutive seasons of under-1000 yards receiving for him, but it’s worth remembering what kind of offense he’s been playing in, and who the quarterbacks were throwing to him. Sure, he might not be the number-one type receiver he was for a couple of years (making the Pro Bowl in 2010), but he still is very useful in the right situation.
Releasing Bowe will mean avoiding the $14 million cap hit his contract brings, not to mention the Chiefs already signing Jeremy Maclin from the Eagles, pushing Bowe closer and closer to an exit, although they will try and find another team that takes him via trade (he’s signed through the 2017 season).
Andre Johnson is another veteran roaming around the market, but Bowe is three years younger and probably comes at a cheaper price because of how things have gone for him over the last few seasons and the perception of an underachiever. With the Ravens trying to cut back on expenses, Bowe, if he is released, might be the more lucrative option.