Chiefs put Emmanuel Ogbah on IR; promote WR to roster

Through their official Twitter account, the Kansas City Chiefs have announced that defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah has been placed on injured reserve.

This will effectively end Ogbah’s season for the Chiefs. Wide receiver Gehrig Dieter has been promoted from the practice squad to take the open spot on the active roster. That opens up a position on the practice squad, so we should expect a player to be signed there soon.

Ogbah suffered a torn pectoral muscle in the 35-32 loss to the Tennessee Titans a week ago Sunday. He was reported to have undergone surgery last week. The recovery period for an injury of this nature is usually measured in months, so Ogbah’s season is very likely to be finished — but he should be good to go before training camp next summer.

That will be good news. After the Chiefs made a straight-up trade to get him — sending safety Eric Murray to the Cleveland Browns — Ogbah’s performance has been a pleasant surprise. He started four games this season, and is currently leading (or co-leading) the team in sacks, tackles for loss and quarterback hits. He’s also forced a fumble and swatted down three passes.

Ogbah — a former second-round pick from the 2016 NFL draft — is in the last year of his rookie deal. But with this move, we could guess that in the offseason, the Chiefs will want to find a way to keep him on the team for next season and beyond.

Dieter — signed to Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in 2016 — is in his fourth year bouncing around the Chiefs organization. A practice squad player for his first two season, he was suffering from back spasms during training camp and was placed on injured reserve just before the final cutdown of the offseason — which normally would have ended any chance for him to play for the Chiefs in 2019. But the Chiefs waived him with an injury settlement a week later. Dieter cleared waivers — which made him a free agent — allowing the Chiefs to sign him back to the practice squad in mid-October.