The Kansas City Chiefs received some disappointing news on Monday, learning that DL Charles Omenihu suffered a torn ACL in the win over the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship Game.

Omenihu joined the team as a free agent in the 2023 NFL offseason, where he was expected to be a chess piece all along the defensive line. He received a six-game suspension at the onset of the season, but after serving that suspension he was able to establish himself as an extremely valuable part of the D-Line group. 

With Omenihu sidelined again, the Chiefs will be tasked with finding a replacement for Super Bowl LVIII. The team has quite a few options to choose from, both internally and out on the free-agent market. 

Below you’ll find a quick look at several of the options who can fill in for Omenihu while he’s injured.

Chiefs have several options on the 53-man roster

The starting edge rushers in Kansas City remain second-year George Karlaftis and veteran Mike Danna, who both might see an uptick in snaps with the pass rush rotation taking a hit. There are several depth players who could be tasked with stepping up, including a pair of 2023 NFL draft picks in Felix Anudike-Uzomah and BJ Thompson. 

Recent trends, however, suggest that another player on the 53-man roster will be the one to pick up the slack. Malik Herring had a standout performance in the team's Week 18 game against the Los Angeles Chargers. His 84.8 grade from Pro Football Focus led the entire team that week, as he recorded a sack, three defensive stops, and a forced fumble during the game. 

Herring had been a healthy scratch through most of the 2023 NFL season, appearing in just six games before Week 18. After that monster performance against the Chargers, he seems to have moved up the depth chart as well. Herring was active in the wild-card, divisional round, and the AFC Championship Game over the rookie first-round pick Anudike-Uzomah. Herring, of course, has been in the building since 2019, so he has a greater mastery of the defense than the rookie. Herring has played 32 total defensive snaps (recording two tackles and a stop) during those three playoff games, but there is a bit of a catch. 

Herring only played one of those snaps on the interior defensive line. Omenihu aligns at both the edge and the interior defensive line at times for Kansas City. If Herring is the guy, he'll need to play some more snaps on the interior as well. The Chiefs could also simply rely on a veteran like Tershawn Wharton to maintain a high level of play on the defensive interior while taking a larger percentage of the snaps than he currently has. 

A possible promotion from the Chiefs' practice squad

With the players that the team currently has on the 53-man roster, it's hard to envision a practice squad promotion, especially to replace Omenihu's presence on the edge. Truman Jones is the only edge rusher the Chiefs currently have on the practice squad, and unless he's made significant progress, he's likely to remain there. 

The defensive interior role vacated by Omenihu could certainly see some practice squad promotions. Mike Pennel is a given, but he could even replace Omenihu on the 53-man roster when he's placed on injured reserve. Chiefs fans won't want to hear this, but Matt Dickerson is probably the likeliest scenario. They also have Isaiah Buggs, who hasn't been promoted yet since signing with K.C. following his release from the Detroit Lions.

Could the Chiefs replace Omenihu with a free agent?

The name that most Chiefs fans immediately thought of in the wake of Omenihu's injury news is Frank Clark. While we're sure to get a tweet from Chris Jones about blood in the water, bringing back the Shark is rather unlikely given the role that Omenihu played for the team. Clark didn't exactly finish his tenure with the Seahawks on a heater either. 

An option that's probably more likely would be former Chiefs DE Carlos Dunlap, who was part of the Super Bowl LVII team against the Philadelphia Eagles last season. Dunlap is someone that the Chiefs have kept on their call list this season, but they've been quite healthy at the edge rusher position throughout. However, he's been focusing on his post-football career as a restauranteur and might not have a major interest in returning to football this late into the 2023 NFL campaign. 

The benefit to bringing in either player is that they both know Steve Spagnuolo's system. They've also both played in Super Bowls for this team before. 

Injured Chiefs DL Charles Omenihu promises to come back better than ever before

Kansas City Chiefs DL Charles Omenihu believes that he’ll make a comeback and return better than ever before after his ACL injury.