Dwayne Bowe does not practice today

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Dwayne Bowe (82) catches a pass against the Houston Texans in the first half at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports

Kansas City Chiefs star WR Dwayne Bowe is crucial to the success of the passing offense, because he is easily the best WR on the team. Without a solid pass-catching tight end, Bowe’s role has been even more important this season. He has been criticized for being unable to beat press coverages, but I’ve been much more critical of Alex Smith’s inability to effectively get Bowe the ball than anything else. Smith isn’t a terrible quarterback, but he hasn’t played this well. Bowe could also stand to improve, though, so it’s a bit of a two-way street.

Dwayne Bowe was limited at practice yesterday, and he wasn’t spotted at practice today in what can be described as an interesting turn of events. According to Chiefs head coach Andy Reid, Bowe is suffering from groin spasms, which could make his status for this week’s game against the Cleveland Browns cloudy. Losing Bowe would definitely hurt, because Donnie Avery would be the Chiefs No. 1 WR. Ouch.

I don’t anticipate Bowe missing this week’s game with groin spasms, but keep a close eye out on further injury updates. It’s a situation worth monitoring because of how important Bowe is as a skill position player in the Chiefs offense. The Browns have one of the best cornerbacks in the league in Joe Haden, and he’s been playing at an elite level all season long. If Bowe is healthy, then he would still have  a rough day against Haden. However, it’s better to have Bowe struggling to gain separation against Haden than a guy like Avery struggling to gain separation.

It’s shaping up to be another crucial week for superstar RB Jamaal Charles.

You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter for more NFL updates and analysis @SorianoJoe. Be sure to like us on Facebook here and follow our site on Twitter as well.