Dwayne Bowe probably is hitting the home stretch of his career in Kansas City, with free agency approaching and the Chiefs unlikely to use a franchise tag on the wide receiver again.
Multiple reporters have suggested that Bowe wants out of Kansas City, which isn't exactly a huge surprise. Bowe says nothing could be further from the truth.
"Why wouldn't I want to stay here? It's a no-brainer for me," Bowe told Adam Teicher of The Kansas City Star. "I never said I didn't want to be here. I never said that. This is where it started for me. This is where people know me from. That's crazy to me.
"When I heard that, I was like, 'Where did that come from?' I never said I wanted out. Please clear that up for me. Do I play like I don't want to be here? I just keep my mouth closed and play the game. That's what I do. Please tell everybody to stop saying I'm a bad guy. I just don't talk (to the media much)."
This reminds us of Cleveland Browns general manager Mike Holmgren's denial of Dallas Cowboys rumors the other day. Bowe essentially is trying to clean up a story that his own agents very likely started. These stories don't just come out of nowhere. They are leaked to the media with purpose: to build a future market. We don't have a problem with the game (behind the game) being played, but the good-cop, bad-cop routine is tiring.
"This is where I was drafted," Bowe said. "When I'm finished, I feel I should be in the Hall of Fame and hopefully win Super Bowls."
The Chiefs probably can't afford to keep Bowe any longer. His best chance to stay would be if general manager Scott Pioli was fired and a new regime came in. Like Vincent Jackson leaving the San Diego Chargers for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers a season ago, we believe Bowe will end a somewhat rocky run with the team that drafted him for a big payday elsewhere.
Follow Gregg Rosenthal on Twitter @greggrosenthal.
