5 Free Agents the Chiefs Should Let Walk
By Chris Schad
The Kansas City Chiefs season ended with a dud in Super Bowl LIX, but it officially kicked off a football fan’s favorite time of the year: the NFL offseason.
The Chiefs are in a good situation as they returned to the Super Bowl for the fifth time in the past six seasons but they'll have plenty of decisions to be made to set the foundation for a return trip in 2025. Kansas City currently has $11.5 million in cap space according to Over The Cap and with needs in the secondary as well as at wide receiver, they may have to let some free agents walk in order to build next year’s team.
So which pending free agents should leave Kansas City in the coming weeks? Here’s a look at five names to follow.
1. Charles Omenihu, DE
Omenihu has been an up-and-down player during his career but found his footing over the past several seasons. After he was originally selected by the Houston Texans in the 2019 NFL Draft, Omenihu was traded to the San Francisco 49ers midway through the 2021 season and found a knack for rushing the passer.
The Texas product generated 33 pressures during that 2021 season but took off the following year, collecting 62 quarterback pressures and 4.5 sacks to earn a two-year, $16 million contract from the Chiefs in free agency.
The partnership got off on the wrong foot when Omenihu was suspended six games for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy but rebounded to have a strong 2023 season with a career-high seven sacks to go with 37 pressures. But a torn ACL suffered during the 2023 AFC Championship win against the Baltimore Ravens led him to the physically unable to perform list during this year’s training camp and just 14 pressures and one sack when he returned late this season.
Omenihu will turn 28 during next year’s training camp, and you can talk yourself into him finding his form along with a normal offseason. But Omenihu didn’t look like himself during the Super Bowl loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, posting a 42.0 overall grade and failing to register a quarterback pressure on 44 pass-rushing snaps.
With Over The Cap valuing Omenihu as $939,000 this season, the Chiefs could bring him back. But his lack of production suggests they should look elsewhere to find a situational pass rusher.