The league-wide assumption reads that Kansas City Chiefs will use the franchise tag on Dwayne Bowe, the team’s top wide receiver, at some point today before the tag’s deadline. There is a slim possibility, however, that the Chiefs could go anotehr direction. With Brandon Carr also among the team’s unrestricted free agents, it’s possible that a surprise move could be made by Scott Pioli.
Josh Looney writes at the Chiefs’ main web site, “Chiefs GM Scott Pioli reiterated at the NFL Scouting Combine that the team would like to keep both Bowe and Carr in Kansas City. Securing a long-term deal with Bowe before Monday’s deadline would allow the Chiefs to use the franchise tag on another player, presumably Carr.”
Many teams are announcing last-minute long-term deals with players who could have been franchised. Stevie Johnson is getting a five-year deal from the Buffalo Bills. Arian Foster is getting the same with the Houston Texans. The Chiefs could be next with Dwayne Bowe, and if that is the case, then Carr is up.
That would likely be frustrating for Carr, but then again he will get paid handsomely either way. The team would also have trade leverage and while they might not break the bank for Carr in a trade given that there’s not as much leverage with a player locked into a very expensive one-year deal, they could gain some sort of draft asset with it.
Expect Pioli to know whether he wants an elite but expensive secondary or what he can get in a trade if he uses the franchise tag on Carr. Most likely is that all of this talk is for naught and that Bowe will get the tag.