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On Tuesday, October 24, the Kansas City Chiefs signed veteran defensive tackle Mike Pennel to the team’s practice squad, according to A to Z Sports’ Charles Goldman. To make room for Pennel on the practice squad, Kansas City cut rookie wide receiver Daniel Arias.
Pennel, 32, entered the NFL undrafted out of Arizona State in 2014. He signed with the Green Bay Packers in May of that year and proved his worth that summer, which is why he turned his undrafted status into a nine-year NFL career thus far.
Chiefs Kingdom will remember Pennel due to this being his second stint in Kansas City. The Chiefs signed Pennel as a depth piece for the defense in 2019. He spent two seasons with the team and was part of the championship squad that won Super Bowl LIV.
Pennel, who stands at 6-foot-4 and weighs 330 pounds, played in 22 regular season games for the Chiefs and registered 53 tackles, 3 quarterback hits, 2 tackles for loss, and 1 sack, according to Pro Football Reference. During the postseason, Pennel recorded 8 tackles and 1 quarterback hit in 6 games played as a Chief.
During his NFL career, Pennel — who excelled as a run stuffer during the prime years of his career — has also spent time with the New York Jets, Atlanta Falcons, and Chicago Bears.
Mike Pennel Replacing Keondre Coburn
Mike Pennel is the only defensive tackle on Kansas City’s practice squad. The Chiefs currently have four defensive tackles on the 53-player roster: Chris Jones, Derrick Nnadi, Tershawn Wharton, and Matt Dickerson.
On October 19, the defending Super Bowl champions waived rookie sixth-round pick Keondre Coburn with the hopes of re-signing him to the practice squad. It was a maneuver to make room for defensive lineman Charles Omenihu, who had been suspended for the first six games of the regular season. Unfortunately, Coburn was claimed off of waivers by the division-rival Denver Broncos, which squashed Kansas City’s hopes of a reunion.
So, Pennel seemingly fills the spot that was going to be filled by Coburn on the practice squad.
Andy Reid Pleased With KC’s Week 7 Victory
Speaking to the media on Monday, October 23, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid shared his thoughts on the Chiefs’ 31-17 win over the division-rival Los Angeles Chargers in Week 7, which improved Kansas City’s record to 6-1.
“Very much like last night — or evening — what I said after the game; I thought all three phases contributed, the defense I thought played very well,” Reid said during his press conference. “(I) mentioned (Defensive Coordinator Steve) Spags had a nice game plan for them, the coaches I thought presented it well. Then the players just played their hearts out, they left it all out there. I thought (they) just did a great job – all three levels, defensive line, linebackers, and the secondary all had a good game. The second half was spectacular, to be able to shut out an offense like that is – that’s a tough, tough thing to do, they’re very gifted and that quarterback (Chargers QB Justin Herbert) is a pretty sharp guy.
“Offensively, any time you can get that kind of yardage and that many points in the National Football League against a rival team, that’s a good football team, that’s a tough thing to do. (Offensive Coordinator) Matt Nagy had a nice gameplan, the guys, all the coaches there contributed to that, and the players did a great job there. Whether it was Pat (Mahomes) throwing the football, (Travis) Kelce doing his thing, the offensive line blocking – you know so on. All the receivers, it was great to get (Marquez) Quez (Valdes-Scantling) in the mix, I mentioned that. Everybody contributed. Getting (Charles) Omenihu back in on the defensive side I thought was a nice addition, getting Mecole Hardman back on special teams was a nice addition – and the few plays that he played on the offensive side, he had 11 or 12 plays on the offensive side, that was a good thing, too. All in all, a good win, we are already deep into Denver right now, so we’re putting this one aside from a coaching standpoint and working on Denver. Whatever questions you have, fire away.”
