Charles Omenihu Agrees to Sign with the Chiefs

The 49ers couldn't afford to re-sign Omenihu, because they don't have much cap space left, plus he recently was arrested for domestic violence.

Grant Cohn | Mar 14, 2023

Another significant loss for the 49ers.

Defensive end Charles Omenihu has agreed to sign a two-year $20 million contract with the Kansas City Chiefs, according to reports. Omenihu started only three games for the 49ers last season, but still managed to record 4.5 sacks, which is why the Chiefs gave him a major raise. The 49ers couldn't afford to re-sign Omenihu, because they don't have much cap space left, plus he recently was arrested for domestic violence, so it's no surprise the 49ers let him leave.

Now the 49ers have lost two key contributors from last season's defensive line -- Omenihu and Samson Ebukam. In addition, defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw reportedly has been placed on the trade block now that the 49ers have acquired defensive tackle Javon Hargrave. Which means the 49ers need more defensive linemen.

They still have Drake Jackson, their second round pick last in 2022 who faded as his rookie season progressed. Still, he has potential.

Plus, the 49ers still can re-sign free agent defensive end Jordan Willis, who is extremely underrated. He never got as much playing time as Omenihu or Ebukam because those two made more money than Willis, but Willis unquestionably is a better edge rusher than those two. Omenihu is more of an interior rusher, while Ebukam is run-stopping specialist.

Look for the 49ers to sign a couple cheap veteran defensive ends, and maybe even draft a couple as well. Kyle Shanahan once said he'd have 25 defensive linemen on his team if he could. Time to find more.

Published Mar 14, 2023

GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.