Charles Omenihu on Earning New KC Chiefs Contract With Play: ‘I Think I Did'

Kansas City's veteran pass rusher joined "Good Morning Football" to discuss whether he's deserving of a new deal based on his play in 2023-24.

To say Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Charles Omenihu had an up-and-down 2023-24 season would be spot-on. What started with a suspension ultimately turned into a very respectable effort from October to January, but then it ended with the veteran pass rusher suffering a torn ACL in the conference title game.

Omenihu, now on the other side of a successful surgery, has recently taken to X to express that he wants to "feel appreciated." That led to speculation regarding what his tweet(s) meant; many assumptions hinted at the social media activity being contract-related. While Omenihu didn't directly address that at the time, he sure did this week.

Waking up with the Good Morning Football crew, Omenihu was asked whether he did enough this past season to get a new contract. He responded with a pretty resounding answer. 

"I think I did, to be honest," Omenihu said. "Like you said, seven sacks in 11 games and then the sack in the [AFC] Championship Game to kind of spark off the wave of defensive plays. Finished second on the team in sacks and didn't have the first six games to catch up with George (Karlaftis) and Chris (Jones). I think I did, I think the tape speaks for itself. I think I showed dominant run play and then with the pass rush, inside and outside and just winning one-on-ones, creating turnovers, being the spark and, like, the energy plays they wanted me to be when I got there.

"I wish I could have a full season this year to kind of do the same. But I think I showed everybody in the organization [and] everybody in the league that I should be talked about in the, maybe not in the (Nick) Bosa and them, conversation but those guys right after. Guys that when you go and do your game plan, you've got to look for 90 out there on the field because if you don't, I'll get your quarterback one way or another." 

"When you go and do your game plan you gotta look for 90 out there on the field cause if you don’t... I'll get your quarterback..."@Chiefs DE @charless_94 wakes up with us pic.twitter.com/OQGdnM8TJi

— Good Morning Football (@gmfb) February 26, 2024

Opinion: Did Omenihu actually do enough to earn a new deal?

In a vacuum, sure, Omenihu is worthy of a new contract. 

He ended up carrying just a $4.49 million cap number in 2023 and was one of the Chiefs' best defensive linemen when on the field. In just 11 regular-season games, as he mentioned, those seven sacks served as a nice stat line. When accompanied by 29 pressures, 11 quarterback hits, five tackles for loss, two passes defended and a pair of forced fumbles, it becomes even more impressive. He also posted the highest Pro Football Focus run defense grade (58.0) of his career. Omenihu played 56% of snaps in games he was available for during the regular season and went over 40 snaps in each of his first two playoff games.  

Once we remove the vacuum, however, the picture is altered. The reason Omenihu missed six weeks to start last season was a suspension. While he had a case as the team's second-best pass rusher when he did play, his claim of being in the sub-Bosa tier isn't cut-and-dry. Among all defensive linemen to log 20% of maximum pass-rushing snaps from Weeks 7-18, he ranked 72nd in pass-rush grade. His 29 pressures were tied for 61st, and his 11.7 win percentage was tied for 88th. He was undoubtedly good last season, but not great or elite.  

The injury also has to be considered here. As things currently stand, Omenihu has an approximate $11M cap hit for 2024 but will likely miss some time to start the season. That's the final year of his contract. With a pre-June 1 cut of Omenihu, Kansas City could save $7.2M against the cap while incurring $3.75M in dead money. For every argument that an Omenihu extension makes sense, couldn't one be made for a cut also being an option?

The answer probably lies somewhere in the middle. Omenihu had an impactful debut campaign for the Chiefs, is still young and was a huge energizer. The team would benefit from having him locked up long-term, and an extension could lower his 2024 cap hit. With that said, he also didn't produce for a full season and is coming off a major injury. He's also not the level of player he alluded to. An extension could help both parties, but there's some yellow tape to work around. A wait-and-see approach seems to be the wisest avenue for everyone.

Report Drops Good News Regarding Andy Reid's Contract