The Washington Commanders are showing no signs of slowing their aggressive offseason roster-building campaign. Following Wednesday's earlier commitments to EDGE rusher K'Lavon Chaisson, tight end Chig Okonkwo, and safety Nick Cross, the Commanders bolstered their defensive front yet again. According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, Washington has struck a one-year deal valued at up to $7 million with former Kansas City Chiefs defensive lineman Charles Omenihu.
Standing 6-foot-5 and weighing 280 pounds, Omenihu originally broke into professional football as a fifth-round selection by the Houston Texans in the 2019 NFL Draft. Midway through his third campaign in Houston, he was traded to the San Francisco 49ers, where he completed the 2021 season and remained through 2022. He then joined the Kansas City Chiefs ahead of the 2023 season, spending the last three years contributing to one of the league's most dominant defensive units.
Former Chiefs DE Charles Omenihu reached agreement today on a one-year deal worth up to $7 million with the Washington Commanders, per his agent @DavidMulugheta of Athletes First. pic.twitter.com/wVuKgRTvkp
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 12, 2026
Across seven seasons in the NFL, Omenihu has suited up for 95 games with 12 starts to his credit, accumulating 129 tackles — 21 of which came behind the line of scrimmage — along with 23 sacks and 66 quarterback hits. At just 28 years old, the veteran pass rusher represents an ideal high-upside rotational asset for new defensive line coach Daronte Jones. What makes Omenihu particularly valuable in a modern scheme is his positional flexibility — capable of operating as a stand-up edge defender or sliding inside to occupy a defensive tackle alignment, giving coordinators meaningful schematic versatility when designing their pass-rush packages.
Omenihu marks the fifth front-seven addition Washington has secured in this single week alone, joining Jihad Oweh, Tim Settle, K'Lavon Chaisson, and Leo Chenal in what amounts to a sweeping overhaul of the Commanders' defensive personnel. Notably, both Omenihu and Chenal arrive in Washington with shared institutional knowledge, having been teammates within Kansas City's championship-caliber system.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Washington Commanders to sign Chiefs DL Charles Omenihu