KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The makeover of the Chiefs front seven continued Monday, with the club picking up defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah in a trade for the Cleveland Browns in exchange for safety Eric Murray.
The 25-year-old Ogbah came to Cleveland as the first selection in the second round of the 2016 draft, the No. 32 overall selection. Ogbah immediately emerged as a starter in the team's 4-3 defensive, notching five and a half sacks as a rookie and picking up a career-high 53 combined tackles.
Injuries slowed Ogbah a bit the past two seasons. His 2017 campaign ended on injured reserve with a fractured foot. He started 10 games picking up four sacks and 29 total tackles. An ankle injury in 2018 kept him out of two games, with the 6-foot-4, 275-pound defensive end tallying three sacks and 40 tackles.
His addition adds experience as a 4-3 edge rusher to a Chiefs defense in transition under new coordinator Steve Spaguolo. He joins a defensive end group expected to include free agent signing Alex Okafor and 2018 second-round pick Breeland Speaks.
Ogbah proved a prolific pass rusher in three seasons at Oklahoma State prior to foregoing his senior season. He picked up 26 and a half sacks for the Cowboys, including 12 and a half his junior season. While Ogbah has tallied 12 and a half sacks in 40 games as a starter for the Browns, he has been known more for his run-stuffing capabilities on the edge rather than as a pure pass rusher.
The addition of pass rusher Vernon Olivier in Cleveland, acquired via the Odell Beckham Jr. trade with the New York Giants, made Ogbah a likely trade target. The Browns opened their offseason program on Monday without Ogbah present.
The move also reduces the size of a crowded Chiefs' safety room. The free agent addition of Tyrann Mathieu added a seventh safety to the roster, which includes veteran Daniel Sorensen and 2018 fourth-round selection Armani Watts. The club also recently offered a contract tender to Jordan Lucas. While the competition for the free safety spot alongside Mathieu appears open, the departure of Murray thins out the competition a bit.
Murray, a fourth-round selection for the Chiefs in 2016, turned in his best season in 2018, starting nine games and picking up 55 tackles with his first career interception in the Week 4 win at Denver. He primarily played cornerback in college at Minnesota before converting to safety in Kansas City.
The trade reunites the 25-year-old Murray with Browns general manager John Dorsey, who selected him as GM for the Chiefs in 2016.
Ogbah has one year remaining on his rookie contract with a base salary of $1.35 million in 2019. Murray also has one-year remaining on his four-year rookie deal, and was due to account for $2.17 million against the cap this season. The addition of Ogbah actually reduces the Chiefs cap hit this season. Ogbah's base salary and the pro-rated portion of Murray's signing bonus of $149,953 results in a cap charge of $1.5 million for the club this season.
