Dwayne Bowe Released by Chiefs: Latest Details, Comments and Reaction

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Dwayne Bowe is the latest former Pro Bowler to hit the free-agent market this spring, as the Kansas City Chiefs released the veteran wideout on Thursday.

The team confirmed the news, with chairman and CEO Clark Hunt issuing the following statement:

On behalf of my family and the entire Chiefs organization, I’d like to thank Dwayne for his contributions over the last eight seasons. During his time with the Chiefs, Dwayne established himself as one of the best receivers in club history. We wish Dwayne nothing but the best as he moves forward.

Chiefs general manager John Dorsey said, "This was a tough decision to make. Dwayne is a team-first guy and he holds a number of team receiving records. We felt this was in the best interest of the club at this time."

Head coach Andy Reid also offered a comment:

It’s been a pleasure working with Dwayne the past two seasons. He showed up every day with a great attitude and did everything we asked of him. He was a productive player for a number of years here and I have a lot of respect for what he was able to accomplish.

Bowe said goodbye to Chiefs fans and the organization on Twitter:

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported earlier this week that Bowe's release was impending.

Bowe, 30, has spent all eight of his NFL seasons with the Chiefs. Kansas City will save at least $5 million on its 2015 cap by dumping his $14 million number and could save more by designating him a post-June 1 cut.

The move comes two years after the sides agreed on a five-year, $56 million contract.

Of course, the Chiefs have essentially replaced one massive wideout deal with another, as they signed Jeremy Maclin to a similarly structured five-year contract early in free agency.

While Maclin is coming off a career-best year and has familiarity with head coach Andy Reid's system after their time in Philadelphia, Bowe enters free agency with legitimate questions about his skill level.

Since signing the contract, Bowe has compiled 1,427 receiving yards and five touchdowns in 30 games.

For the sake of comparison, that's 271 fewer yards than Pittsburgh's Antonio Brown put up last season and less than one-third of the touchdowns scored by Dallas' Dez Bryant.

Maclin came through with 1,318 yards and 10 touchdowns last season.

In fact, Bowe has not had a 1,000-yard season since 2011 and has only three such campaigns in eight seasons.

While factors like quarterback play impacted his production, it's fair to wonder whether the Chiefs paid a premium for a player who never proved himself worthy of such a contract. Bowe has posted double-digit touchdowns once in his entire career and scored more than five twice.   

Football Outsiders' DVOA metric ranked Bowe 53rd among qualifying receivers last season. It was the fourth straight campaign in which he ranked outside of the top 50.

To put it mildly, these aren't the numbers of someone who should be averaging more than $10 million per year in salary.

It's therefore unlikely we'll see any team break the bank for him in the coming days.

That's the bad news. The good news is Bowe will have the opportunity to fit in with a team as a secondary option—a role he's far better suited for than the leading man he's been playing as since his arrival in Kansas City.

Unless otherwise noted, contract information courtesy of Spotrac.

Follow Tyler Conway on Twitter @tylerconway22.