Report: KC Chiefs' Charles Omenihu Suffered Torn ACL in AFC Championship vs. Ravens

Despite Omenihu's initial optimism, the veteran pass rusher's knee injury is bad news for Kansas City ahead of the Super Bowl.

In the Kansas City Chiefs' AFC Championship Game win over the Baltimore Ravens, defensive lineman Charles Omenihu was forced out of the game early with a knee injury. The team downgraded him from questionable to out during the game, hinting at something potentially more serious than just a minor ailment. As it turns out, that caution was warranted.

Per a Monday afternoon report from Jordan Schultz of Bleacher Report, Omenihu suffered a torn ACL in the conference title game. 

#Chiefs pass rusher Charles Omenihu suffered a torn ACL vs the #Ravens, sources tell @BleacherReport.

Omenihu was a huge part of KC’s defensive surge, recording 7 sacks and 2 FF in 11 games — and had a strip sack on Lamar Jackson that resulted in a turnover vs Baltimore.

A… pic.twitter.com/UL21HZMqvN

— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) January 29, 2024

#Chiefs pass rusher Charles Omenihu suffered a torn ACL vs the #Ravens, sources tell @BleacherReport.

Omenihu was a huge part of KC’s defensive surge, recording 7 sacks and 2 FF in 11 games — and had a strip sack on Lamar Jackson that resulted in a turnover vs Baltimore. 

A huge loss for Steve Spagnuolo’s defense heading into the Super Bowl.

This is a massive blow for Kansas City, as Omenihu was optimistic after Sunday's game that he'd be able to play through his injury. Speaking to the media on the field immediately following the Chiefs' huge win, he didn't leave a ton of room for uncertainty on his end. 

"This is what I came here for, bro," Omenihu said. "This is exactly what I came here for. Make big plays, help the team win, you know what I'm saying? I'm going to be good. I know I'm not done. I'm playing, I'm straight, we're here."

Signed to a two-year deal during the offseason, Omenihu came on strong down the stretch for Kansas City this year. Recording seven sacks in 11 regular-season games and playing valuable snaps during the postseason, he was one of the club's premier pass-rush specialists to complement players like Chris Jones and George Karlaftis. The former Houston Texans and San Francisco 49ers standout played only six snaps on Sunday before leaving with his reported torn ACL.

It's unclear at this time what a recovery window for Omenihu will be, as ACL journies are oftentimes a bit different. Even a super optimistic timeline of six months before ramping up with some sort of activities would make him a candidate to potentially start training camp and/or the preseason on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list. In turn, that emphasizes the Chiefs' depth to possibly make up for that loss if Omenihu misses time to begin the regular season. The importance of 2023 first-round pick Felix Anudike-Uzomah now becomes even greater moving forward. 

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— Charles Omenihu (@charless_94) January 29, 2024

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