Chiefs showed interest in a reunion with a Super Bowl LIV champion before he signed with an AFC foe
The Kansas City Chiefs were poking around a potential reunion along the defensive line — and no, we're not talking about Chris Jones' fantasy of bringing back Frank Clark. As first reported by NFL Network's Cameron Wolfe, the Chiefs had shown interest in DE Emmanuel Ogbah (among other teams) before the veteran pass rusher opted to return to […]
The Kansas City Chiefs were poking around a potential reunion along the defensive line — and no, we're not talking about Chris Jones' fantasy of bringing back Frank Clark.
As first reported by NFL Network's Cameron Wolfe, the Chiefs had shown interest in DE Emmanuel Ogbah (among other teams) before the veteran pass rusher opted to return to the Miami Dolphins, where he's played for the last four seasons. Ogbah previously spent the Chiefs' Super Bowl LIV-winning season in Kansas City after he was acquired in a trade with the Cleveland Browns in a player swap for DB Eric Murray. He was a second-round draft pick by the Browns out of Oklahoma State in the 2016 NFL draft.
Ogbah has 42.5 career sacks, including 5.5 during his time spent with Kansas City in 2019.
Why didn't a deal between the Chiefs and Ogbah happen?
The Kansas City Chiefs have all of the reasons to seek out a player to reinforce their edge rusher depth. BJ Thompson remains on the Non-Football Illness (NFI) list as he undergoes tests after his scare during OTAs. Charles Omenihu is on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list, with an optimistic goal to be back on the field by the midseason mark.
A reunion with Ogbah would have made a lot of sense for the Chiefs as he knows Steve Spagnuolo's system and has produced in it before. The big obstacle here was really about where Ogbah would fall in the defensive line rotation for Kansas City. Like most NFL free agents, role, playing time, and cost were a factor in negotiations here.
If things go as the Chiefs had hoped in 2024, Ogbah would have slotted in behind players like George Karlaftis, Mike Danna, and Felix Anudike-Uzomah. The Chiefs do rotate their defensive line with frequency, but it appears that this wasn't quite the opportunity Ogbah was looking for.
Any potential move on Ogbah also wouldn't leave much room for players like Malik Herring and Truman Jones to compete for a chance to make the roster outside of an injury situation. The same goes for a player like Thompson should he return from the NFI during training camp.
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