Chiefs DE Charles Omenihu, out for Super Bowl LVIII, undergoing surgery Tuesday to repair torn ACL
Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Charles Omenihu will officially undergo surgery Tuesday to repair his torn ACL, James Palmer of NFL Network reported.
Omenihu, 26, sustained the injury during Kansas City’s 17-10 AFC Championship Game victory over the Baltimore Ravens. As a result, he will miss Sunday’s Super Bowl LVIII contest against the San Francisco 49ers, robbing him the chance of going against his former team with the Lombardi Trophy on the line.
Omenihu, who signed a two-year, $16 million deal with the Chiefs this past offseason, had a career-year in 2023. In 11 games, he recorded 28 tackles (18 solo), five tackles for loss, 7.0 sacks, 11 quarterback hits and two forced fumbles playing in Steve Spagnuolo’s defense.
Chiefs need others to make up the loss of Charles Omenihu
Though he won’t suit up at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Omenihu traveled with the team and spoke to the media Monday at Super Bowl Opening Day.
“I think emotionally it will touch me for the simple fact that I won’t be up playing the biggest game in the NFL,” Omenihu said, via Aaron Ladd of KSHB41. “I had dreams of playing and making plays, just continuing what I’ve been doing all year, to be honest. And especially going against your former team.”
Replacing Omenihu will be no easy task for the Chiefs. Spagnuolo said that Kansas City will take a committee approach in attempting to get pressure on 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy.
“I’ll tell you; you don’t replace that height and that length that he [Omenihu] has, but we’ll have guys to step in there,” Spagnuolo said. “Felix [Anudike-Uzomah] will probably have to step in, everybody has to up their game in a Super Bowl anyway.
“Hopefully, like last week, I think it was decent in the first half where we didn’t have to play as many plays. If the play count gets up, that’s where it gets tough for George [Karlaftis] being out there a lot and Mike [Danna] and that’s when we have to have guys to step in.”