Dolphins WR Search Goes Somewhere Over Dwayne Bowe

The Miami Dolphins are on a bye.  The Kansas City Chiefs are on a bye.  Dwayne Bowe wants out of KC and the Miami Dolphins need a top end WR.  It all makes sense for both teams.  The Chiefs are looking at a real possibility of finishing with a top 5 pick next April and Scott Pioli the teams GM will likely be looking for a job.  “Hello, yes this is Jeff Ireland”.

Dwayne Bowe is an electric player.  He knows how to physically use his frame to shield defenders.  Can go up and bring the tough catches down and at the same time is one of the more sure handed receivers in the league.  He is not blazing fast but runs very solid routes and gets open.  He is a quarterbacks’ dream receiver.  For all those accolades Dwayne Bowe should be on the tips of Dolphins management tongues.

Bowe is also bordering on “Diva”.  He has been unhappy in KC not just this year but in years past.  He has held out of training, held out of OTA’s, and has been questioned about his durability and focus.  He has been accused of taking plays off although that was early in his career.  He is not a locker room cancer but neither is he a locker room leader.  Does that sound like a player that the Dolphins would bring into the fold?

When it comes to Dwayne Bowe there are more important factors than either of the pro’s and con’s listed above.  There is money.  Lots and lots of money.  The Dolphins will have plenty of that to spend next year but they will also have plenty of their own free agents as well.  Including Jake Long, Sean Smith, and Brian Hartline.  Bowe over-values himself.  He has to the Chiefs and he will to the Dolphins.  He will seek to achieve Antonio Brown type money.  The 50 million range easily.

Then there is the compensation.  The Dolphins know that Bowe won’t stay in Kansas City after this year regardless of what happens with the Chiefs management at seasons end.  Bowe was tagged as the teams franchise player last year and two years in a row escalates the money paid to that player quite a lot.  If the talk that Bowe desperately wants out of KC is for real, then the Chiefs should get what they can and move on.  In theory.

The Chiefs will not however simply let him walk to the first team who tosses a pick in the general direction.  They will likely seek a player to go with it and likely seek a 2nd or 3rd rounder.  The Dolphins have two of each but this Dolphins team doesn’t throw away draft picks on a whim.  They covet them and build their team through the draft.  The argument from the fans perspective is “the team will not find a talent of Dwayne Bowe in round 2 or 3”.

That may be true but they will also not pay 50 million to a 2nd or 3rd rounder either.

One positive that the Dolphins will weigh pertains to fan support.  Will the addition of Dwayne Bowe bring fans into the stadium on Sunday?  What if they add Bowe and then promptly lose the next two games?  How quickly Bowe or any new receiver meshes with Ryan Tannehill will go a long way to forming success.  To me the move to add Bowe is as good as it is bad.

When I first heard the trickle of speculation I thought, “Wow, bold move by Ireland”.  Then I started thinking about it.  And I put down my foam “we’re number 1” finger and thought about the move.  Good for the fans?  Yes.  He is a name.  A recognizable name that many believe the Dolphins missed out on in the draft.  Is it good for the team is another question.

The Dolphins would have to make the trade this weekend in order to have Bowe in Miami for a full week of practice.  They would have to have a new contract in place so that Bowe doesn’t skip out at the end of the year as a free agent.  They would need to talk with him, poke and prod him, run him, test him, and generally get an idea of whether this is the long term solution for a big problem.  Then they have to pull the trigger.  In other words, there is a lot that needs to go on in a short time.

More telling than anything else though is that there are no substantiated rumors.  The initial speculation came from Yahoo! Sports Jason Cole who more often than not throws stuff at a wall and runs with what sticks.  ESPN has talked about it after the fact, fans have done the same.  Yet there is not one shred of anything coming out of Miami or Kansas City that would indicate the two teams have even picked up the phone.

These Dolphins do not appear to be the same Dolphins that traded for Brandon Marshall a few years back.  Ireland has been criticized for the trade but since, this team has given more of an impression that they plan on building through the draft instead of throwing money and picks away.  There is also some issue with the long term ability of the team to work out a deal for Bowe that would keep him happy in Miami.  As some of our readers have pointed out, Bowe may not be able to negotiate a long term deal until the season is over because he is under the Franchise tag for 2012.

Note:  Earlier today this article was posted and portions of the article were left out or deleted by mistake.