KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Fans have been clamoring for the Kansas City Chiefs to bring Tony Gonzalez back so he can make his final Super Bowl run in Kansas City. The idea has a lot of merit.

Forget that one of the franchise’s all-time greats would be returning to the Chiefs. They have too good a thing going this year to get all sentimental. This has to be about football and nothing else.

So what really matters is this: How much better would their passing game look with Gonzalez attracting plenty of defensive attention in the middle of the field?

A lot. So from that angle, the return of Gonzalez would make a lot of sense.

Don’t let anyone tell you it wouldn’t work financially, either. It would be a tight squeeze, but the Chiefs have about $2.5 million of available salary cap room. Gonzalez’s base salary this season is $3.5. He’s due 12 more paychecks this season, so that adds up to a tidy $2.471 million.

The biggest concern for the Chiefs should be their locker room and what introducing a player of Gonzalez’s stature would do. Toward the end of his time with the Chiefs, Gonzalez was more interested in personal goals than winning. The Chiefs have some great chemistry, and they need to be wary of everything before introducing a foreign element into their locker room. The only way a Gonzalez trade works for them is if he won’t pout if he doesn’t get the ball.

It also doesn’t make a ton of sense that the 1-4 Atlanta Falcons would bail on Gonzalez and their season so soon. They’re already four games behind the New Orleans Saints in the NFC South, so a division championship is out of the question. They could still be a factor in the wild-card chase, but only if they don’t trade Gonzalez.

So while this is fun to think about, a Gonzalez return to the Chiefs may be just that: wishful thinking.