Getty Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Mike Pennel.
Just days before his first game of the 2022 regular season, a former Kansas City Chiefs defender was cut from his new team.
Veteran defensive tackle Mike Pennel was released by the Chicago Bears on Friday, September 9, per the NFL’s transaction wire.
The Bears have released veteran NT Mike Pennel.
Chiefs fans may remember Pennel from Kansas City’s Super Bowl runs during the 2019 and 2020 seasons. He played in 22 regular-season games and all six playoff games during those seasons, recording 64 tackles in that timeframe, according to Pro Football Reference.
Pennel, 31, has been in the NFL since 2014 and entered the league undrafted. He played the first three seasons of his career for the Green Bay Packers, followed by three years for the New York Jets, two years for the Chiefs, and played for the Atlanta Falcons during the 2021 season. After hitting free agency this offseason, the Bears signed Pennel on June 14.
With his release, Pennel is free to sign with whichever team gives him an offer. Due to the timing of his release, offers likely won’t start trickling in for Pennel until after the Week 1 slate of games take place.
Justin Reid on Week 1, Being a Chief
Speaking to the media on September 8, Chiefs safety Justin Reid, who joined the team this offseason, described his feelings on being a Chief after having gone through training camp and the preseason.
“I mean it’s really settled in at this point. I’m bleeding red and gold, so I can’t wait to get out on the field,” Reid said. “We’ve been building towards this. I think training camp (has) been tremendous for us to come together as a team. (We) built chemistry, especially with all the new faces including myself and now it’s time to write our story.”
Reid also detailed what he’s seen from Kansas City’s defense thus far that makes him confident they can perform well against the Chiefs’ Week 1 opponent, the Arizona Cardinals.
“Yeah, well preseason was encouraging on the 12 plays the defense and the offense had got but that is preseason,” Reid said. “Now we get to play some real NFL football where everybody’s a starter. I’m encouraged by what I’ve seen in practice, I’m encouraged about all the work that’s been put in so far. We got everything that we need right here on this team to go the distance. It’s about putting that into effect and not just saying it but going out and doing it.”
Spags: ‘Baptism by Fire’ for Chiefs Rookies
Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo was asked during his press conference on September 8 how the coaching staff will help out the team’s young secondary early in the regular season.
“There may be a little bit of that – helping out. I’m going to trust these guys right now. We played three preseason games, that gave us a little bit of an indication, right? They didn’t get a lot of reps, but there’s going to be some trust here,” Spags explained.
“There’s going to be baptism by fire and we certainly know we’re going to have to live with some rookie mistakes. It’s going to happen. Everyone’s going to make mistakes in this game, you just hope that their skill makes enough plays that it offsets that. Because what you don’t want to have happen – especially in the positions you’re talking about, a mistake back there (is) magnified. You just hope it doesn’t cost us in terms of points.”
The Chiefs battle the Cardinals on September 11 at 3:25 p.m. CST.