Just when it looked like Charles Omenihu would be moving on from Kansas City in free agency, the Chiefs re-signed him to a one-year contract worth up to a maximum of $7 million.
The veteran defensive lineman will enter his third season with Kansas City, and the seventh of his career. While speaking to the media on Wednesday, Omenihu said he talked to other teams, but realized it was in his best interest to return to the Chiefs after missing significant game action each of the past two seasons.
"I would say the time that I did miss held weight with teams," Omenihu said about his free agency experience. "It would be difficult for anybody to look the same from before injury, and then after injury. So, those two factors were something I dealt with in free agency. When you come to a point in decision making that makes football sense at the time, you kind of throw your ego out of it, and you think long-term and think clearly. There's just a space where you feel like, I got to let my ego down and think about what's going to be best long-term. And I found it to coming back to an organization I know, coaches I know, the system I know. Before I got hurt, I was on a very good pace. Very fast, rapid pace. So, getting a whole year, getting the whole offseason, I feel will bode well in my favor, and also in the team's favor, because I do well, we all do well."
In 2023 Omenihu missed the first six games of the season due to a suspension, and in 2024 he missed the first 11 games as he rehabbed from a torn ACL that he suffered in the AFC Championship Game the year previous. Omenihu admitted that it was pretty remarkable that he was able to play at all last season.
"It was kind of crazy that I was playing, but I wanted to do anything to be on the field the guys and to help the team," Omenihu said. "So, I pushed and pushed to do that. But, when you take a step back and go on the training where everything's specific for me, it was kind of crazy I was out there."
Now healthy and having no distractions, Omenihu has the opportunity to have a huge season in 2025 and potentially cash in on a lucrative long-term contract next offseason.
"Life is about adversity," Omenihu said about his journey. "Life is about overcoming it. And I think what keeps me at peace is now, knock on wood, is there's not any of that (adversity) anymore. God-willing, I’ll be able to play the home-opener. I’ll be able to play from Game 1. I haven’t been able to play Game 1 since my fourth year in the league. I’m going on Year 7. So, it’s tough, because you feel like you put all the work in. I know that I’m a talented player, it’s like you climb the hill, climb the hill, and then a rock hits you in the face. Now, hopefully, I can climb this hill, and I don’t have too much debris hitting me, and I can just play Game 1 and show everyone exactly what I was before I got hurt. And then also, with that, help the team and help the defense and give the defense and this organization a full 20 or 21 games, whatever the case may be, to be like, okay, this is Charles Omenihu.”
