Report: Chiefs Re-Sign Defensive End Alex Okafor
A day after former Los Angeles Chargers defensive end Melvin Ingram signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Kansas City Chiefs have brought Alex Okafor back for a third season, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
Okafor spent the last two seasons with the Chiefs under defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, appearing in 21 regular season games and three postseason games, totaling eight sacks, all in the regular season. Okafor missed the latter portion of the Chiefs' 2019 campaign and Super Bowl run after suffering a torn pectoral muscle in Week 15. Okafor appeared in just 11 games in 2020 while spending some time on the injured reserve list with a hamstring injury.
The Chiefs were reportedly interested in Ingram before he landed in Pittsburgh on Monday, and with some uncertainty around the status of defensive end Frank Clark following two offseason arrests, Okafor provides a familiar face at an important position for Spagnuolo's defense.
Is this the right move for the Chiefs?
It seems like one of a very short list of moves the Chiefs could have made as they were clearly not content with their defensive end room. Their interest in Ingram was a clear sign that they were hoping to add another edge-rusher, but Okafor's past two seasons in Kansas City have been underwhelming, largely due to injuries. Okafor has appeared in 16 games in a season just once: in his final year in New Orleans before coming to Kansas City. Even then, his four-sack season didn't launch him into an upper class of edge-rushers. When healthy, he should be able to provide a decent presence against the run and an occasional pass-rush rep that impacts the opposing quarterback.
Okafor's re-signing may give the Chiefs more flexibility with defensive lineman Chris Jones, however. With a bit more depth on the edge, Jones's move from defensive tackle to defensive end could potentially be more of a luxury than a necessity, though it still seems smart to assume that Jones will spend the majority of his time on the edge in 2021, a change from recent years.
With Clark and Jones as the probable starters on the edge, Okafor likely matches up with veteran Taco Charlton, second-year defensive end Mike Danna and rookie Joshua Kaindoh as the Chiefs' edge-rushing rotation, likely seeing the field in that order.
