In Week 1 of the 2019 season, before Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid’s Kansas City Chiefs had ever made a Super Bowl appearance (they would go on to make 5 in the next 7 seasons), a defensive end traded in from the Cleveland Browns that season made a strong start to his Chiefs career, logging 1.5 sacks against Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens.

An unfortunate torn pectoral muscle injury in Week 10 of the 2019 regular season against the Tennessee Titans would place the then-26-year-old DE on the injured reserve for the remainder of the year. The Chiefs would go on to lift Super Bowl LIV in 2020, while the DE would finish with 5.5 total sacks (leading the team at the time of injury), 32 combined tackles, 11 QB hits, and 1 Forced Fumble. Now, 6 years later, the Kansas City Chiefs have reunited with that same Defensive End who played a role at the start of their rise as they look to kickstart their dynasty again after a disappointing outing in 2025.  

“Free-agent defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah is signing a one-year deal with the Chiefs; per source. It’s a reunion. Ogbah won a Super Bowl with them in 2020,” ESPN’s NFL insider Adam Schefter wrote on X.

Since leaving the Chiefs, Emmanuel Ogbah has played for the Miami Dolphins for 4 seasons, logging back-to-back 9.0 sack seasons in 2020 and 2021. He’d sign a 4-year, $65 million contract extension before being released in 2024, despite starting all 16 games that he played in to clear salary space. He ended up getting signed by the Jaguars for the 2025 season, where he accumulated 15 combined tackles and 4 QB hits in a decreased role on defense. 

The former 32nd overall draft pick will enter his 11th NFL season, and the Chiefs would be hoping Emmanuel Ogbah is the answer to their depth issues at Pass Rush.

What Emmanuel Ogbah’s Signing Means for KC’s Defensive End Rotation

Emmanuel Ogbah’s addition to the KC roster provides needed depth in the DE room. George Karlaftis is currently the only sure-shot starter in the Chiefs’ pass rush. Ogbah fits the description of a traditional Steve Spagnuolo DE with his 6’4” frame and 35” arm length per Sports Illustrated’s Jordan Foote.

What’s interesting to note is that the Chiefs went for Ogbah mid-training camp. This indicates that perhaps the initial plan was to assess the current situation of the DE room. 

2nd-year 3rd-round pick Ashton Gillotte, 23, suffered a hamstring injury in camp, which has kept him out for more than a week, adding incentive to bring in Emmanuel Ogbah.

The 40th overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft will be one to look out for this season and the ones beyond. Even if the Chiefs are optimistic about Gillotte or 4th-year 1st-rounder Felix Anudike-Uzomah, the DE room lacked depth, especially after being poor in 2025, per Sports Illustrated’s Joshua Brisco. 

“Ogbah, in his age-33 season, shouldn’t be expected to take on a tremendous workload, but he has a clear path to playing time…Ogbah should be able to play passable snaps while helping set the floor of KC’s rotation of edge defenders…Ogbah’s return makes for a logical bolstering of KC’s pass rush with a steady veteran,” Brisco noted of Emmanuel Ogbah joining the Chiefs. 

It remains to be seen how Kansas City’s pass rush depth lines up ahead of the season. However, Ogbah might very well play an important role on the Chiefs’ defensive roster as he did in 2019.