KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs will be without a key defensive player for Super Bowl LVIII after defensive end Charles Omenihu reportedly tore a ligament in his knee Sunday during the AFC Championship Game at Baltimore.
KPRC 2 Houston's NFL Reporter Aaron Wilson and others reported Monday that Omenihu tore an ACL.
Omenihu suffered the injury as he ran toward the sideline despite not being contacted by a Ravens player not long after he had a key sack and forced quarterback Lamar Jackson to fumble in the second quarter.
Omenihu missed the second half, but he told KSHB 41's Aaron Ladd on the field after the game that he intended to in the Super Bowl against his former team, the San Francisco 49ers.
#Chiefs Charles Omenihu: "Do I look like somebody that's not gonna play in the Super Bowl? No I don't." @KSHB41 pic.twitter.com/KjyGa83rvl
— Aaron Ladd (@aaronladdtv) January 29, 2024
Despite missing the first six games this season, Omenihu's first with the Chiefs after a year and a half with the Niners, Omenihu recorded a career-high seven sacks in 11 games.
He also had a career-best 28 tackles and finished fourth for Kansas City with 11 quarterback hits.
Omenihu, a fifth-round pick by Houston in 2019, spent his first 2 1/2 NFL seasons with the Texans before being traded to the 49ers, where he set his previous career-high with 4 1/2 sacks in 2022.
Rookie first-round defensive end Felix Anudike-Uzomah, who has been inactive for the playoffs, seemingly would be in line to replace Omenihu in the edge rotation.
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