Kansas City Chiefs: Re-signing Mike Pennel excellent move
The Kansas City Chiefs and Mike Pennel agreed on a one-year deal and this is a move that needed to be done for this team, as Pennel made a huge difference on defense in the back half of the 2019 season.
One of the moves that the Kansas City Chiefs needed to make this offseason was trying to find a way to bring back defensive tackle Mike Pennel, who had a coming out party with the Chiefs in the second half of the season.
Well, the Chiefs got their guy.
Tom Pelissero mentioned that Pennel had offers from other teams, but wanted to stay with the Chiefs. His key hit on Jimmy G in Super Bowl LIV will be remembered forever amongst Chiefs Kingdom and now Pennel is back on a one-year deal.
Veteran DT Mike Pennel is re-signing with the #Chiefs on a one-year deal, source said. Had other offers, but wanted to return to the team he helped win a Super Bowl last month with his INT-causing hit on Jimmy Garoppolo.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 25, 2020
The Chiefs were smart with this deal too, as signing a soon-to-be 29 year old defensive tackle to anything more than a one-year deal might not have been the wisest of moves. A one-year deal is perfect and if Pennel has another good season, he can hit the free agent market again a year from now.
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Pennel had spent the first five years of his career with the Packers and Jets before the Chiefs took a chance on him in October of the 2019 season. His presence wasn’t truly felt until the back half of the season and when he was inactive for the Titans game, the what had been an improving run defense sunk back to what it was before Pennel stepped in.
Pennel was crucial in helping the run defense and that’s the hope in re-signing him, that it’ll stay as consistent as it was during the 2019 playoff run to the Super Bowl.
The Chiefs haven’t been able to keep some of their key guys from last season’s Super Bowl winning team, Pennel is a big one to keep around. They lost Emmanuel Ogbah and Kendall Fuller, both of whom were big on defense for this team, but Ogbah missed the playoffs due to injury, so between re-signing him or Pennel – most would have picked Pennel.
This is the kind of move Brett Veach needed to make to keep the Kansas City Chiefs defense up to snuff and hopefully they’ll make a few under the radar moves in free agency so that this defense can continue to be a solid unit.
Welcome back to Kansas City, Mike Pennel! Glad to have you back for the 2020 season!