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Whether Branden Albert stays or goes is the biggest question to the offseason. That will shape whether the Chiefs decide to go after a left tackle high in the draft, snag one in free agency or stand pat if Albert ends up staying. Most of our free agency and draft questions can't truly begin until we know the answer to that.
More: All Chiefs free agency news and rumors
But there's also Dwayne Bowe. The "other" free agent. There's absolutely an argument as to whether Bowe or Albert are more important to the Chiefs future but because Bowe's signing doesn't have the ripple effect that Albert's does it seems like we haven't spent as much time talking about him.
Peter King of SI.com gets the conversation re-started with this tidbit in his Monday Morning QB column:
Speaking of stars available in free agency, one scout told me the other day: "I am scared to death of [Kansas City wideout] Dwayne Bowe. Like him a lot, but not sure what we'd be buying if we signed him. Too much baggage."
This is a good time to mention that once you get a label, it's damn hard to shake it off. Bowe has his quirks, for sure. Yeah, he points at the name on his jersey when the Chiefs are getting blown out. He says some things that raise your eyebrows (but anything he said raised eyebrows simply because it was rare to hear him talk). But when was the last time he did something that was truly a problem? Two years?
I don't know about you but ... give me the guy who is good for 80 and 1,000 every year. Say what you want about him but he's one of the few guys who I know what I'm getting every year.
What may help the Chiefs this free agency period is that there could be some competition among the top receivers. Percy Harvin could be available via trade, Wes Welker and Brandon Lloyd could be on the market and then there's also Mike Wallace and Greg Jennings. That might make the decision to come back to Kansas City a little easier.