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By Joe Kozlowski
Sports Team Lead
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While the Kansas City Chiefs made it to the promised land to claim their place as back-to-back Super Bowl champions, there were some bumps in the road along the way. One of those notably came during the AFC title game, when Charles Omenihu left the fray with a knee problem. Although he thought that he'd be ready to go for the big game, that wasn't the case. He was diagnosed with a torn ACL, ending his season.
Now, it's the offseason and that all feels like it's ancient history. By the time football restarts in the fall, the pass rusher will be back to his best, right? Well, not exactly.
Every human body is different, but ACL surgery usually carries quite the layoff. And, given the realities of the NFL salary cap, that could cause the Chiefs to call an audible.
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Let's break things down.
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Omenihu Won't Be Ready for a While
As mentioned above, news broke this week that Omenihu had undergone surgery to repair his torn ACL. And while it's easy to think that's the end of the process, there's really quite a road ahead.
Depending on where you look, you'll see slightly different timelines for recovering after ACL surgery. The United Kingdom's National Health Service, for example, writes that recovery can take up to a year. A Hospital for Special Surgery post, on the other hand, notes that ordinary people can largely return to normal day-to-day lives in about three months, but athletes will need eight months to a year to return to their best.
Beyond those variations, though, it's clear that Omenihu won't bounce back from his surgery in the blink of an eye.
Dr. Leon Popovitz, an orthopedic surgeon and co-founder of New York Bone & Joint Specialists, confirmed that general timeline in an email to Newsweek.
"Yes, the latest most common protocols are 9-12 months for return to play (RTP)," Dr. Popovitz explained. "There is no absolute consensus on when is the best time for RTP after ACL reconstruction. There have been ranges from 12 months to even an accelerated 4 months but now the trend is more conservative, again.
"Typically, the player's new ACL graft may be ready after 6 months but the knee has to pass a number of functional tests for power, stability and strength. One thing that, also, should not be unnoticed is the psychological factor in timing to return to play. Therefore, now, players typically return to play after 9 to 12 months."
And that's where things get a bit sticky regarding Omenihu. Since his surgery took place in late February, nine months would put him back in action around Thanksgiving. That would mean he'd miss about 12 weeks of action (based on the 2023 schedule) if everything goes smoothly. If he falls on the slower end of the recovery spectrum, though, we'd be looking at even less 2024 availability.
Could Omenihu Become a Cap Casualty?
Under most circumstances, you'd probably pencil Omenihu into Kansas City's starting rotation next season. He made an impact during his first season at Arrowhead (seven sacks in 11 regular-season appearances) and was a part of defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo's top-notch unit.
His injury, combined with the rest of the Chiefs' offseason work, however, could change the equation.
As you've probably heard, the defending champs have some big-time players bound for free agency. Chris Jones and L'Jarius Sneed lead the way, but there are also some smaller-name players who will either need to be re-signed or replaced. Punter Tommy Townsend, for example, already seems destined to leave town.
And while Omenihu is on the books through the 2024 campaign, he now has to factor into the mix. If he's going to miss at least a few months of the season, K.C. will have to replace him in some way. Especially if Jones, Derrick Nnadi and Mike Danna leave in free agency, you don't want to start the year with a defensive front of George Karlaftis and unproven players.
If you need to replace the defensive end, would it make sense to remove him from the roster and save a shade over $7 million in salary cap space? Whether you want to allocate that money to Jones or Sneed, to keep the existing unit as strong as possible, or use it to bring in a veteran free agent, there's probably some wisdom to spending that money on someone who can help sooner than late November. Keeping Omenihu and bringing in a short-term stopgap essentially forces you to spend twice.
That's not to say that the pass rusher isn't a good player who could help the club; he proved that he's a capable contributor during the 2023 season. When you're a general manager trying to keep a championship window wide open, though, some compromises have to be made.
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