Free agent Chiefs wide receiver Dwayne Bowe is coming back to catch passes from new quarterback Alex Smith, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Bowe has agreed to a five-year contract. Ian Rappaport of NFL.com reports that the deal is worth $56 million and includes $26 million guaranteed.
Bowe played under the franchise tag last year, and made $9.515 million. If the Chiefs used the franchise tag on him again, he would have represented an $11.4 million salary cap hit. The Chiefs used their tag on left tackle Branden Albert.
Bowe had a down season by his standards, catching 59 passes for 801 yards and three touchdowns in 13 games before suffering an injured rib. The receptions and touchdowns were career lows for Bowe, who can attribute much of his struggles to erratic and ineffective quarterback play. In his Chiefs career, Bowe has caught 415 passes for 5,728 yards and 39 scores. In 2010, he broke out with a 15-touchdown season.
Head coach Andy Reid said in a statement that he is very excited to have Bowe back in the fold. "We're excited to have Dwayne on the roster for the long term. Dwayne's a big, physical receiver who has had success in this league. He is part of the Chiefs family, and it was important to him to remain in Kansas City. I'm looking forward to working with Dwayne."
The Chiefs also locked up their punter, Dustin Colquitt, to a five-year deal worth $18.75 million, including $8.9 million in guaranteed money. The 30-year-old punter has been with the Chiefs for all eight of his NFL seasons and has a net average of 39.5 yards. 113 of his punts have landed inside the opponent's 20-yard line. The deal makes Colquitt the highest-paid punter in league history.
Despite franchising Albert, there is still heavy speculation that Kansas City will use the first overall pick in the draft on Texas A&M tackle Luke Joeckel, and either trade Albert or shift him to the right side.
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