Tag: Charles Omenihu

New Chiefs DE Charles Omenihu commences recruitment of WR DeAndre Hopkins

#Chiefs DE Charles Omenihu took to Twitter to recruit his former teammate #Cardinals WR DeAndre Hopkins.

A new member of the Kansas City Chiefs endeared himself to fans in a big way on Monday afternoon.

New Chiefs DE Charles Omenihu took to Twitter to send a message to his former teammate with the Houston Texans, none other than current Arizona Cardinals WR DeAndre Hopkins. Omenihu and Hopkins both played for Houston in 2019, spending a full season together with the Texans.

“@DeAndreHopkins come on fam we waiting on you,” Omenihu exclaimed, with a Chiefs Kingdom hashtag to follow.

Omenihu hasn’t even officially been a member of the Chiefs for a full week and he’s already out there making a recruiting pitch for the team.

Hopkins, of course, isn’t a free agent. He’s still under contract with Arizona, which means this isn’t as simple as Hopkins coming and signing with the team. The Cardinals, however, have been believed to be shopping Hopkins for weeks. The hold-up in any sort of trade seems to be Arizona’s asking price of a “premium Day 2 pick and more.” With the recent trade of Brandin Cooks from the Texans to the Cowboys, that price looks more and more unrealistic for Hopkins.

The Chiefs’ options to improve the receiver position ahead of the 2023 NFL draft are dwindling. Many believe that Hopkins and Odell Beckham Jr. are the last remaining options between free agency and trade. Could Omenihu’s plea be tipping the hand of the front office in Kansas City or is he just having some fun with his new fanbase and a former teammate? Only time will tell.

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One thing to love about each of the Chiefs’ free agent signings

Here’s one thing to love about each of the #Chiefs’ newest free agent signings:

The Kansas City Chiefs have been fairly active in free agency, making four new additions since the legal tampering period first opened up a week ago.

They’ve added key players on both sides of the ball such as OT Jawaan Taylor, DE Charles Omenihu, LB Drue Tranquill and S Mike Edwards. Each player brings something fresh and exciting to the table for Kansas City that will help shape their time with the team.

Here’s a quick look at one of the things to love about each of the team’s newest additions:

Contract details for new Chiefs DE Charles Omenihu revealed

The contract numbers for new #Chiefs DE Charles Omenihu’s two-year deal have been revealed.

The Kansas City Chiefs have signed former San Francisco 49ers DE Charles Omenihu on a two-year contract. Just as initially reported, Omenihu has the ability to earn up to $20 million with $2 million in playoff incentives each year, but the deal is essentially a two-year contract worth $16 million.

According to the folks at Over The Cap, $10.6 million is guaranteed with $8.6 million fully guaranteed at signing. He carries a low $1.08 million base salary in 2023, which increases to $6.740 million in 2024. He’ll earn $7.5 million in prorated bonus money over the two years of the deal and $510K in per-game roster bonus in 2024. He’ll earn just $170K in workout bonus over the life of the contract.

Omenihu carries a $4.8 million cap hit in 2023, which is currently the eighth-highest on the team. That cap number will balloon to $11.1 million in 2024, but will only rank as the seventh-highest on the team. That’s, of course, without any new extensions, restructures, cuts, or signings.

The Chiefs can get out of the contract after just one year, incurring just $3.75 million in dead money charges and saving $7.4 million against the salary cap. They’d have to make that decision before the third day of the 2024 league year at which point another $2 million in Omenihu’s contract becomes guaranteed.

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The best bargains and most underrated players in 2023 NFL free agency (so far)

Everybody wants to talk about the big-name signings, but here are the best bargains of the 2023 free agent class so far.

There are people in the NFL — especially people who have endured one or more instances of top-heavy free-agency spending — who will tell you that if you want to contend for a Super Bowl, the bottom third of your roster will be just as important as the top third at some point in time. Yes, you want optimal performances from the best and brightest, and if you get it, that’s great. But one of your star players will probably miss time with an injury. Another star might be involved in a contract dispute. And it’s entirely possible that the big-ticket free agent your team brought in for the gross national product of Estonia is actually a bad fit for what his new coaches would like him to do.

It happens all the time. To counter all of these little nightmares, it’s wise to find the best bargains in any free-agent cycle — those players who may not be marquee names, but whose performances on the field makes them important to you.

Especially when things go wrong up top.

There are still quite a few talented players on the open market, so we’ll be adding to this list as we go… but for now, here are the free agents either re-signing in their old homes or going to new locations who will impact their rosters much more than you may think.

Charles Omenihu prepared to play at multiple spots on Chiefs’ defensive line

Omenihu pointed to his versatility on the defensive line as a reason that the #Chiefs pursued him in free agency. | from @TheJohnDillon

The Kansas City Chiefs received favorable grades for their signing of defensive lineman Charles Omenihu in free agency, and early indications are that he will play an outsized role in the team’s front four next season.

Omenihu has gifts that will help him contribute to the team’s defensive line from a number of different alignments. He explained to reporters during his introductory press conference the different advantages that this flexibility should bring to the Chiefs’ pass rush.

“I think the versatility is just something that is a known thing so that was something that was brought up, but not something that we talked too much in depth about,” Omenihu explained. “It was just something, I think that looking at me as a player or profile that I can rush inside I can rush outside, rush over the center, whatever you need me to do I’ve shown that I can do it throughout my career. What I think I bring to the table is a guy that can do that.

“I think I’m a guy that can play the run of first (or) second down and play over tight ends and be in the nine and the five and then I think I can rush on the edge if you need me to depending however we want to do it and rush inside so I think that versatility is what I bring to the table. A guy that’s going to play hard, very much a guy that’s going to stuff the run because I know when you play the run well you can have some fun rushing the quarterback.”

Time will tell if Omenihu is able to maintain his production in Kansas City, but the Chiefs certainly seem to have found a player who can fill multiple needs for them on their defensive front after the loss of veterans Frank Clark and Khalen Saunders.

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Charles Omenihu believes Chiefs are a ‘first class organization’

Omenihu said that the #Chiefs are a “first-class organization” in his introductory press conference on Thursday. | from @TheJohnDillon

Newly acquired pass rusher Charles Omenihu is set to make a massive impact on the Kansas City Chiefs defense in 2023 and spoke to reporters for the first time after signing his new contract on Thursday.

Omenihu has faced off against the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium as a member of the Houston Texans. He also played against the team as a member of the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium this past season. Asked for his impression of the team from playing against them, Omenihu made it clear that his experiences with Kansas City have been favorable.

“Yeah, [it is a] first-class organization,” He explained. “A team that’s about winning, executes at a high clip, well coached, very good players, so all positives. And then I know guys that play here and that I’ve played with before in college and in the league and it’s the same thing. Just high class, execution at the highest level, a player-led team, an organization that makes the players feel welcomed and players can be themselves and that’s all, as a player, that you can ask for.”

So much for the NFLPA report card.

Even though he has only spent a couple of days with the team, it seems that Omenihu is already getting comfortable in his new home with the defending Super Bowl champions. If he can put together a career year with the Chiefs in 2023, he may be able to help the team secure their third Super Bowl ring of the Patrick Mahomes era, and the first of his young career.

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Charles Omenihu ready to embrace starting role with Chiefs

Asked about what makes him ready to be a starter in Kansas City, new #Chiefs DE Charles Omenihu said all of the right things.

The Kansas City Chiefs introduced the newest member of their defense on Thursday.

Charles Omenihu officially inked his deal with the team after agreeing to a deal with the Chiefs during the legal tampering period. He joins the Chiefs Kingdom after 1.5 years playing with the San Francisco 49ers, starting out there as a rotational pass-rusher. In Kansas City, there seems to be an expectation that Omenihu could play an every-down role. He has the versatility to play edge rusher on early downs and work on the defensive interior on key pass-rushing downs.

Omenihu was asked about what makes him ready for a chance to be a starter during his introductory press conference. His explanation should get fans really excited for the future.

“Just understanding the importance of playing the run,” Omenihu said. “It’s the first step of getting to the quarterback. My role with the (49ers), I mean, I played as much as a starter would. My first chance, stepping on the field, was to rush the quarterback. So, I just had that mode of getting to the quarterback or affecting the quarterback. But now, being in the game and having a chance to be a starter, I feel like I can more so set up guys so I don’t always have to go for the kill shot rush. I can set up guys and really play the long game.”

Omenihu is thinking about the big picture now. It’s not simply about getting to the quarterback every snap that he’s on the field. He has to earn the right to rush the passer by stopping the run and then eventually pick his moment to go for the kill.

This was something that Frank Clark was really exceptional at during the course of his Chiefs career. It’s why Clark had so many of those clutch performances in the postseason. Now it seems as if the newest member of the defense is attempting to follow in his footsteps with that same mentality.

“Once you set guys up and keep them off balance,” Omenihu concluded. “In my opinion, that’s when you can really dice people up and have multi-sack kind of games when you do that.

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New Chiefs DE Charles Omenihu to wear his college jersey number in Kansas City

#Chiefs DE Charles Omenihu is switching back to the jersey number he last wore at the University of Texas.

One of the newest members of the Kansas City Chiefs is going back to his college jersey number with his new team.

Charles Omenihu was officially introduced as a member of the Chiefs on Thursday. After wearing the No. 94 jersey number in the NFL with both the Houston Texans and the San Francisco 49ers, Omenihu is making a switch for his latest stop.

Omenihu is set to wear the No. 90 jersey number with the Chiefs — a number he hasn’t worn since 2018 as a member of the Texas Longhorns. Kansas City revealed just a portion of his new jersey on Twitter, but Chiefs Wire has confirmed he’ll wear No. 90 as No. 94 is currently worn by Chiefs DL Malik Herring.

The most notable player to ever wear the No. 90 jersey number in Kansas City is Chiefs Hall of Famer Neil Smith, who played with the team from 1988 through 1996. They’ve also had some notable players wear that number in the Andy Reid era. First, it was LB Josh Mauga who wore it for two seasons, then Emmanuel Ogbah and Jarran Reed both briefly wore the No. 90 in Kansas City.

It’s certainly one of the stronger numbers that a pass-rusher can choose and Omenihu will be rocking it with the Chiefs for the next two seasons.

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Chiefs’ signing of Charles Omenihu earns ‘A-‘ grade from Touchdown Wire

The #Chiefs’ signing of #49ers DE Charles Omenihu earned an “A-” grade from our friends at @TheNFLWire

The Kansas City Chiefs have a new edge rusher as a part of the squad, one that they’ve had their eye on since the 2019 NFL draft.

The Chiefs added former Houston Texans and San Francisco 49ers edge Charles Omenihu to the fold during the legal tampering period. The former Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year out of the University of Texas has evolved into a versatile chess piece in the NFL, one that defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo will be using up and down the defensive line.

Our friends at Touchdown Wire are providing early grades for every move made in free agency. Doug Farrar gave the Chiefs’ signing of Omenihu an “A-” grade, but that entirely stems from the uncertainty surrounding his arrest in January.

Like a lot of players, Charles Omenihu got better when he was coached by former 49ers defensive coordinator and new Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans. Omenihu, selected in the fifth round of the 2019 draft out of Texas, was a decent rotational pass-rusher for the Texans for 2 1/2 seasons. But when the 49ers traded for him in November, 2021, the light went on. Now, Omenihu will ply his trade with the Chiefs in Steve Spagnuolo’s defense, which seems to be an ideal fit.

Last season, the 6-foot-5, 280 pound Omenihu had seven sacks, 12 quarterback hits, and 43 quarterback hurries in just 475 pass-rushing snaps. He’s more of a multi-gap pass-rusher than a run defender, and that’s fine, because he’s become quite good at the whole pass-rushing thing from all over the place. Spagnuolo loves to bring chaos with his fronts, so he’ll have fun with Omenihu.

Farrar went on to showcase the two sacks that Omenihu had during the wild-card round of the 2022 playoffs against the Seahawks. It showcased his versatility to line up over the center and as a traditional edge rusher with equal levels of success.

“On the field, Omenihu gives the Chiefs a fine pass-rusher on a steal of a deal,” he wrote.

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49ers DL Charles Omenihu gets big 2-year contract from Chiefs

ICYMI: Charles Omenihu is moving on from the 49ers after he got a bag from the Chiefs.

Charles Omenihu won’t be returning to the 49ers next season. The versatile defensive line agreed to a two-year deal with the Chiefs that will pay him a maximum of $20 million per NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport.

The 49ers acquired Omenihu from the Texans before the 2021 trade deadline for a sixth-round selection in the 2023 draft. He quickly made an impact in key moments for San Francisco with 1.5 sacks in the 2021 postseason.

Omenihu’s role grew from there and in 2022 his versatility to rush from either the interior or the edge allowed him to notch a career-high with 4.5 sacks. He posted an additional 2.0 sacks in the playoffs.

Retaining him wasn’t going to be easy for San Francisco, especially after giving DL Javon Hargrave a massive four-year deal. His strong market also played a role in his exit, and his rising value to NFL clubs is apparent in the sizable two-year deal he got with the Chiefs.

In 26 regular-season games with the 49ers Omenihu put up 26 tackles, three tackles for loss, 17 QB hits and 4.5 sacks.

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