Here are Chiefs’ plans for Charles Omenihu — and a vision for him that excites Spags
Kansas City Chiefs defensive line coach Joe Cullen already had someone waiting for him at the team facility following last Thursday’s win over the Denver Broncos.
Defensive end Charles Omenihu — just hours after his six-game NFL suspension officially ended — was eager to get to work, even in the early morning hours.
“He was excited,” Cullen said Thursday with a smile. “He got a lift in, and he was ready to go.”
Omenihu, a 6-foot-5, 280-pound defensive end, is set to make his official KC debut this Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers after being held out of games for nearly two months.
In August, the Chiefs’ free-agent signing was suspended for the first six regular-season contests for violating the league’s personal conduct policy; Omenihu was arrested for suspicion of misdemeanor domestic violence on Jan. 23.
His last preseason game action, then, was in KC’s exhibition finale against Cleveland on Aug. 26, when he contributed two tackles and a sack.
Those circumstances likely explain Omenihu’s enthusiasm to get back to football full-time. He’s posted recent social media messages anticipating his return, and defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo said he could sense Omenihu’s exuberance during Wednesday’s practice.
“He’s fired up. He’s got so much energy ready to burst out there, he was great,” Spagnuolo said. “We’ve got to kind of amp him up the right way. We talked about that, Joe and I and Charles. But he looks great. He’s chomping at the bit, as you can imagine.”
So how does Omenihu fit with a Chiefs defensive line that has already played above expectations this season?
Spagnuolo was honest Thursday in saying he wasn’t 100% sure yet. He did admit, though, that adding depth to the group was a good problem to have.
“I think the guys that have been here the last six weeks certainly have earned their time to continue,” Spagnuolo said. “So we look at it as an addition — hopefully the whole thing goes upward. That’s the hope. That’s the plan.”
Make no mistake: Omenihu has the potential to be impactful once fully implemented with the defense.
The Chiefs signed him to a two-year free-agent deal in March. Coming off a 4.5-sack campaign for San Francisco last season, Omenihu was ranked by Pro Football Focus (PFF) as the 36th-best free agent this offseason.
Spagnuolo was also thrilled by this big-picture thought: With Omenihu and Chris Jones available as interior players, the Chiefs can now potentially go 6-foot-5 and 6-foot-6 at their two inside pass-rushing positions.
Even 6-6 QBs, Spagnuolo surmised, could have trouble throwing over the top of those two.
“So that’s exciting,” Spagnuolo said. “But we’ll see where it fits in.”
How much Omenihu plays on Sunday remains uncertain.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid said he wanted to see how practices went this week but noted Omenihu had the advantage of going through training camp and preseason with the team.
“For (not being) in a football uniform,” Reid said, “he’s kept himself in good shape.”
Cullen hoped, eventually, that getting Omenihu back would help the D-line unit as a whole. He envisioned the team being able to “roll some guys more” — much like a hockey shift line — when Omenihu is up to full strength.
Early returns for Omenihu were encouraging; PFF’s preseason grades had him rated as the Chiefs’ fifth-best overall defender who played at least 50 preseason snaps, as he showed strengths in both pass rush and run defense.
“He’s definitely somebody you have to look at. If I’m game-planning against him, I’m going to know where he’s at,” Reid said. “He’s a good football player.”
