Kansas City Chiefs stole DE Emmanuel Ogbah right out from under an NFC South team that already had him in the building
The Kansas City Chiefs signed DE Emmanuel Ogbah fresh off of a tryout with the Atlanta Falcons, who has some serious needs at the edge rusher spot.
The Kansas City Chiefs signed DE Emmanuel Ogbah on a one-year deal earlier today, according to a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The deal to sign Ogbah did not appear on the NFL’s daily personnel notice for Tuesday, Aug. 11. What did appear on the personnel notice? Ogbah had a tryout with the Atlanta Falcons.
The Chiefs don’t appear to be at risk of losing Ogbah to the Falcons. Ogbah’s agency, Rosenhaus Sports, has already announced the free agent deal with Kansas City. Rather, the Falcons seem to have lost Ogbah to the Chiefs. That’s bad news for the NFC South club, which has some serious issues at the edge rusher position with Jalon Walker on injured reserve.
The reason the transaction to sign Ogbah, and a corresponding roster move by K.C., didn’t happen officially on Tuesday? Ogbah still needs to take his physical with the team to consummate the agreement. Expect him to be in St. Joseph, Missouri at Missouri Western State University for Chiefs training camp on Wednesday morning to make that happen.
Kansas City Chiefs DC Steve Spagnuolo reacts to DE Emmanuel Ogbah signing
Steve Spagnuolo spoke to media members after Day 12 of training camp practice. Naturally, he was asked about the Ogbah signing. He hedged his bets, but also made his stance on a potential reunion clear.
“Yeah, I always had an affection for (DE) E (Emmanuel Ogbah),” Spagnuolo said. “It was disappointing the one year we had him in 2019. I thought he was really coming on, and then he got hurt, and then we didn’t have him at the end of the year. But I’ve always periodically been in touch with him. We’ve got to get through the physical and all those other things, but if he’s part of our group, I’ll be excited about that.”
Ogbah appeared in 10 games for Kansas City in 2019 before a pectoral injury ended his season. He recorded 23 total tackles, three passes batted, one forced fumble, 5.5 sacks, and 11 QB hits. That pace would’ve amounted to a career year.
It’s unlikely that the 32-year-old will be able to recapture that same level of success in Kansas City in 2026. However, the veteran is certainly an upgrade to the team’s defensive end depth after the season-ending injury to Ethan Downs.
