Charles Omenihu suspended six games by NFL

The National Football League announced multiple suspensions for the start of a new league year coming up in just over a month, and the Kansas City Chiefs have learned that defensive lineman Charles Omenihu will be forced to sit out for the first six games of the year.

NFL reporter Ian Rapoport has noted that Omenihu's suspension begins with the start of the regular season and that he's still able to remain with the team in training camp in St. Joseph and participate in practices as well as preseason games until then.

The Chiefs will be even thinner up front as they start the season with Charles Omenihu on the sidelines.

Omenihu came to the Chiefs this offseason as the biggest defensive prize in free agency after also landing offensive tackle Jawaan Taylor on a four-year contract. Omenihu came over from the San Francisco 49ers on a two-year deal worth up to $16 million even after being involved in an alleged domestic violence incident last January in which he reportedly pushed his girlfriend during an argument.

The Chiefs envisioned Omenihu as a versatile pass rusher who would ease the loss of Frank Clark on the field and could step in as an emerging young player to join the likes of even younger pass rushers like Mike Danna, George Karlaftis, and this year's first-round pick Felix Anudike-Uzomah as well as fifth-round choice B.J. Thompson.

The problem with the loss of Omenihu at this stage is that the Chiefs are now going to start the season overly relient upon their younger players and they're still without Chris Jones in the middle to help lead and communicate in the trenches. In addition, Danna himself has been injured in camp with a calf strain, and the team is also without a veteran like Carlos Dunlap in order to help provide mentorship to such an inexperienced group.

Omenihu had 20 tackles and 4.5 sacks for the Niners last year in 17 games as a rotational pass rusher.