Andy Reid Reacts to Charles Omenihu’s Suspension
From the very moment he signed with the Kansas City Chiefs, there was always a bit of uncertainty surrounding exactly how many games defensive end Charles Omenihu would be available to play over the course of the 2023 regular season. That number has now been made official, and the team is tasked with crafting a plan in the aftermath.
The 25-year-old pass-rusher is suspended six games for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy, leaving Kansas City without one of its key offseason pickups for the first month-plus of the season. This is a significant blow to Steve Spagnuolo's defensive front, and one that will place a lot of pressure on others to perform in Omenihu's absence. Following Monday morning's training camp practice, had coach Andy Reid chimed in with his thoughts on Omenihu being suspended.
"You're never sure about those, how many games they're going to get," Reid said. "He got the six, and that's where we're at. We knew it was going to be something. They went [in] that direction. We'll work through it and the other guys will step up and go."
He also shared his message to Omenihu now that things have been sorted out.
"Yeah, well, I mean it's done," Reid said. "So he's just got to keep pushing through and make sure he doesn't slack off on the football part and then take care of business off the field."
Despite the suspension, Omenihu is eligible to keep practicing with the team during the preseason. He can also play in Kansas City's upcoming three games (at the New Orleans Saints and Arizona Cardinals and at home versus the Cleveland Browns) while logging some live reps before he begins serving his league-mandated time. The Chiefs begin the season on Sept. 7, though, and Omenihu won't be able to return until Oct. 13. Who will replace his expected production? The answer is complicated.
Of the notable non-Omenihu names left in the Chiefs' defensive end room, three of them — Felix Anudike-Uzomah, BJ Thompson and Truman Jones — have zero snaps of NFL experience. Above them, Malik Herring and Joshua Kaindoh have combined for just 134 regular-season snaps in their careers thus far. 2022 first-round pick George Karlaftis has a full season's worth of reps (730) under his belt and 2020 draft selection Mike Danna (1,339) leads the room, although the cupboard is still relatively bare. According to Reid, however, the team is confident in its current group's ability to weather the storm.
"They're handling it well," Reid said. "We'll just see how it all works out during the preseason — who steps up and who doesn't — and we'll just go from there. I think we have enough bodies there to take care of it."
