Chiefs DL Charles Omenihu suffered torn ACL in AFC Championship Game win over Ravens
The Kansas City Chiefs' path to victory in Super Bowl LVIII just took a big hit. Chiefs DL Charles Omenihu exited the AFC Championship Game against the Baltimore Ravens with a non-contact knee injury. His knee buckled on a play and whenever that happens, fans tend to fear the worst. Omenihu assured reporters after the game […]
The Kansas City Chiefs' path to victory in Super Bowl LVIII just took a big hit.
Chiefs DL Charles Omenihu exited the AFC Championship Game against the Baltimore Ravens with a non-contact knee injury. His knee buckled on a play and whenever that happens, fans tend to fear the worst.
Omenihu assured reporters after the game that he'd be playing in the Super Bowl. That was before he even knew that the game would be played against his former team, the San Francisco 49ers. Now, that scenario is in serious doubt.
Sources confirm to A to Z Sports that Omenihu suffered a torn ACL in the victory over the Ravens. Bleacher Report's Jordan Schultz was first to report.
Omenihu has been a huge boon to the Chiefs' pass rush in the second half of the season after returning from his suspension. He finished the season with at least a half-sack in the final six games. He managed a sack-fumble against Lamar Jackson in Sunday's win that had him looking like prime Derrick Thomas.
There is little denying that this will be a tough loss for Kansas City, especially with the extra motivation that Omenihu would carry playing against his former team.
If this is it for Omenihu in the 2023-2024 season, he'll finish the year having played in 14 combined regular and postseason games. In the regular season, he managed 28 total tackles, five tackles for loss, seven sacks, two passes batted, two forced fumbles and 11 QB hits. In the postseason, he recorded three total tackles, one sack, one forced fumble, and one QB hit.
What does this injury mean for 2024
This injury also hurts the team beyond Super Bowl LVIII.
ACL injury recovery time varies from person to person and from knee to knee. The average recovery time for NFL players is between nine to 10 months, which means that Omenihu will likely miss the early portion of next season with the injury. He might be looking at a November return at the earliest.
This means the developmental track for guys like Felix Anudike-Uzomah and BJ Thompson is going to need to speed up. It also means the team might have to put greater consideration into keeping players like Chris Jones and Mike Danna than they might have previously considered.
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