They claimed Bowe's agent was too busy negotiating a contract for another first-round client, Oakland quarterback JaMarcus Russell, and wanted to wait on Bowe until examining the contract of Cleveland quarterback Brady Quinn, picked in the spot before Bowe and still unsigned.

None of that turned out to be true: Bowe will beat both Russell and Quinn to camp.

Bowe agreed to terms yesterday on a five-year contract with the Chiefs, leaving running back Larry Johnson as the Chiefs' remaining contract holdout.

Salary figures were unavailable for Bowe. But because draft-pick money is usually slotted, Bowe is likely to receive over the life of the contract somewhere between the $13.2 million given to Jacksonville safety Reggie Nelson (chosen two spots ahead of Bowe) and the $11.6 million given to New England safety Brandon Meriweather (selected one spot behind Bowe).

Guaranteed money should be between the $7 million given to Nelson and the $6 million given to Meriweather.

Bowe was expected to arrive last night in River Falls , but it was unclear whether he would practice with the Chiefs today. The Chiefs said they would have no comment on Bowe until today.

Three first-round picks remained without contract agreements: Russell, Quinn and Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis.

Given the Chiefs' recent pessimism, their notorious history for first-round holdouts and the fact that Bowe's agent, Ethan Lock, also represented John Tait in what was even for the Chiefs an overly acrimonious contract negotiation, Bowe had the look of a long holdout.

But he missed only slightly more than a week of camp and should be available for the Chiefs' first preseason game Saturday night in Cleveland.

At least one Chiefs player said he would welcome Bowe with open arms.

"They drafted him in the first round for a reason," quarterback Brodie Croyle said. "He's a big, physical receiver who makes a lot of plays. I played against him in college for three years, and he made a bunch of them against us. (Croyle was at Alabama while Bowe played at Louisiana State.) He's another piece of the puzzle. I can't wait until he gets to practice."

Eddie Kennison has one starting wide-receiver spot, but the other is open to Bowe, Samie Parker, Jeff Webb and Chris Hannon. Even if Bowe doesn't start, he could play as a third receiver.

"I'm sure the coaches will get him in there and running around pretty soon," Croyle said. "With his fresh legs, I'm sure they're going to run him into the ground the first couple of days."

The first couple of days at practice might be the most difficult for Bowe.

"Those two or three days are going to be hard for him," said linebacker Derrick Johnson, the Chiefs' first-round pick two years ago. Johnson missed the first five days of camp that year because of protracted contract negotiations.

"He's going to have to catch up to the speed and the hitting and the timing. There's going to be a time where it's going too fast for him. Then he'll catch up with it. Give him two days.

"Nobody here is going to hold that against him. He knows that. This was the business part of it. Now that's done, and he can play football."

Bowe, a three-year starter at LSU who caught 65 passes and scored 12 touchdowns as a senior, will also face heavy and immediate media attention—and some large expectations from the Chiefs and their fans.