Kansas City Chiefs need to find way to keep WR Dwayne Bowe long-term

There isn't a person who has watched the Kansas City Chiefs this season that hasn't seen the importance that Dwayne Bowe has to this Chiefs offense. He's Matt Cassel's favorite target and is currently the only consistent receiving threat the Chiefs have on the field.

Bowe was targeted 12 times against the Chargers and finished with seven catches for 108 yards and a touchdown. Through four games Bowe has 25 receptions for 342 yards and three touchdowns. The thought of this Chiefs offense without Bowe on the field is just plain scary to any Chiefs fan out there.

Bowe wants to get paid like a top-flight wide receiver and the thought out there is that maybe he becomes less motivated after getting his big pay day. The idea that he'll become content with his money because he's shown to have a "me first" mentality in the past. The truth of the matter is very few people, if any, honestly know Dwayne Bowe well enough to know how he'd react after getting what all NFL players strive for in their careers.

The NFL is unlike any other major professional sport in our country in that players have just one chance at a big pay day. The career longevity of NFL players is so short that the window to receive that long-term contract must be far enough into your prime that teams know it's not a fluke, and with enough time left that you're projected to still be in your prime through the length of the deal.

Dwayne Bowe and Jamaal Charles are the two best players on the Chiefs offense, and they're also two of the better offensive players in the entire AFC. A team that's struggling like Kansas City can't afford to take steps backwards when they have so many steps they need to go forward to reach their ultimate goals.

Letting Dwayne Bowe leave Kansas City for greener pastures this off-season would be a huge step backwards for this offense. That's not something the Kansas City Chiefs can afford right now and with all of the talk surrounding the Chiefs cap situation there is one thing we do know for certain, the Chiefs can afford to pay Dwayne Bowe. It's just a matter of whether or not they will.