Chiefs DE handed six-game suspension

The Chiefs will be without one of their defensive ends for a while. Charles Omenihu received a six-game suspension Friday, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports.

Omenihu, who signed with the Chiefs in March, was arrested on a misdemeanor domestic violence charge in January. While Omenihu played out the season with the 49ers, he will be in line to miss a chunk of his first Chiefs campaign.

Suspended under the NFL’s personal conduct policy, Omenihu will be eligible to complete Kansas City’s training camp and preseason. But he will not be able to rejoin the team until Week 7. The Chiefs signed the former 49ers auxiliary rusher to a two-year, $16M deal. This suspension puts the $8.6M guaranteed Omenihu received at risk.

The arrest occurred after a woman told police her boyfriend, Omenihu, pushed her to the ground during an argument. The 25-year-old defender was booked into the Santa Clara County Main Jail. This came days before the NFC championship game. With the NFL still investigating, Omenihu played 38 defensive snaps in the 49ers’ loss to the Eagles. The arrest also did not do much to minimize Omenihu’s market, requiring an $8.6M guarantee—more than Leonard Floyd or ex-Chief Frank Clark received when they eventually found new homes—to complete the signing. But this suspension could void that guarantee.

The Chiefs have not been afraid to take risks on players with checkered pasts, as the Clark trade and Tyreek Hill draft choice best illustrated. Clark, who had a domestic violence incident before his NFL career, played four seasons with the Chiefs but found himself a cap casualty this offseason. Clark, who received a two-game suspension last year after being arrested twice on gun charges, played four seasons with the Chiefs following the 2019 blockbuster trade. Clark has since signed with the Broncos.

Since acquiring Omenihu from the Texans before the 2021 trade deadline, the 49ers used him as one of their Nick Bosa sidekicks. Omenihu recorded 1.5 sacks during the 2021 postseason and dropped Geno Smith twice during the 49ers’ wild-card win over the Seahawks last year. During the 2022 regular season, Omenihu registered 4.5 sacks and totaled 16 quarterback hits. When the suspension ends, he will be expected to team with recent first-round picks George Karlaftisand Felix Anudike-Uzomah on Kansas City’s Chris Jones-fronted defensive line.