Do the Kansas City Chiefs Need Frank Clark? With Charles Omenihu Returning, It's Complicated

Frank Clark is back on the market, and a reunion in KC seems likely. But do the Chiefs actually have a spot for him?

It's been a strange year for Frank Clark. In March, the Kansas City Chiefs released him after four seasons and two Super Bowl championships with KC. In June, he signed with the Denver Broncos. In October, he became a free agent again after agreeing to terms on a reworked contract that would allow him to get out of Denver.

Now, a potential reunion with the Chiefs is reportedly "the most likely scenario." It makes sense that Clark would want to return to a familiar winning team that would give him a chance to chase the NFL's all-time playoff sack record as he sits just one sack behind second-place Reggie White and two and a half sacks behind the leader, Willie McGinest. But that's only one side of the story.

Do the Chiefs actually need Frank Clark?

NFL Playoff Sack Record
1. Willie McGinest - 16
2. Reggie White - 14.5
3. Frank Clark - 13.5

Other Current active players within distance
Von Miller - 10.5
Nick Bosa- 8

— Nick Jacobs (@Jacobs71) October 14, 2023

Clark's original departure from Kansas City was money-based. His 2023 cap hit of $28.6 million was untenable, so KC moved on and was left with a dead cap hit of $7.5 million, freeing up roughly $21 million in cap space. If he were to return at a bargain price, wouldn't it make sense for the Chiefs to bring him in? It's complicated.

The Chiefs' biggest defensive splash of the offseason came when they signed former San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman Charles Omenihu, who was later suspended for the first six games of the season. Omenihu is set to return against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, when he could begin to make his case as the second-best pass-rusher on the team, behind Chris Jones.

Mike Danna has led Chiefs defensive linemen in snaps taken this year, having been on the field for 79.5% of KC's defensive snaps so far this season. Second-year defensive end George Karlaftis is next with 77%. Jones, after missing Week 1, is up to 53%. No other defensive linemen is over 50%. Danna can also play inside, especially when Jones moves out to line up against an offensive tackle, and Omenihu saw success playing both inside and outside in San Francisco. On the edges, Malik Herring has played 29% of KC's defensive snaps, while first-round rookie Felix Anudike-Uzomah has played just 27%, bottoming out at five snaps against the Broncos on Thursday. Fifth-round rookie BJ Thompson has been a healthy inactive every week so far.

Do you see the logjam?

Danna's versatility will keep him on the field for plenty of snaps, but Omenihu will have to take some of his work while perhaps knocking Herring out of the rotation. Even with inside-outside flexibility, the Chiefs are now — with a good problem to have! — trying to find work for an ascending second-year player (Karlaftis), a versatile free agent signing (Omenihu), a homegrown do-it-all handyman (Danna), a developmental piece who's seeing the field (Herring), a first-round rookie who needs game reps (Anudike-Uzomah) and another rookie who hasn't been active yet (Thompson).

That's a full room before Clark even enters the picture. Plus, with highly sought-after undrafted free agent Harvard EDGE Truman Jones on the Chiefs' practice squad, there's one more developmental player to keep in mind.

If Clark is willing to sign with KC's practice squad, he could be a positive voice in the Chiefs' locker room while waiting for a chance to see the field down the stretch as injuries will undoubtedly impact the team's defensive line. Could he play up to the level Herring has shown this season? Probably! Should the Chiefs put Clark on the field at the expense of game reps for Karlaftis or Anudike-Uzomah? I sure don't think so. If Clark needs an active roster spot, would the Chiefs waive BJ Thompson just a handful of games into his rookie season? If they thought Thompson would make it to the practice squad, they probably would have made that move already. It's likely that another team would claim Thompson to add to a less-deep EDGE group, perhaps on a team freshly into a rebuild.

So, what should the Chiefs actually do?

Having Clark back in Kansas City, especially for another round of the inexplicable "Playoff Frank Clark," would be a blast. I'm also not particularly worried about Clark recoiling at the idea of being a part-time player for a defense he once led. He'd be a strong mentoring presence for the young rushers without the hefty price tag that ended his first run in KC. But before the Chiefs make the nostalgia play, they need to ensure that their long-term plan centered around Karlaftis, Omenihu, Danna and Anudike-Uzomah still has time to develop. It's what they chose to bet on when they released Clark in March. 

Report: Frank Clark Return to Chiefs 'Most Likely Scenario'