The Kansas City Chiefs picked up their fifth win in the past six games on Monday night, and several things helped fuel the 28-7 win over the Washington Commanders. An offense that is starting to look like itself again is at the top of the list, and a defense that has held its opponent to seven points over the past two games has also revived its Super Bowl dreams after a 1-3 start.
While the Chiefs are hitting their stride, that doesn’t mean they’ve made some mistakes along the way. One decision was to cut defensive tackle Mike Pennel at the end of training camp, leading to his departure to the Cincinnati Bengals. The move left Kansas City woefully short on depth in the trenches, but the Bengals may have served up a mulligan.
NFL on CBS’s Jonathan Jones reports that the veteran was released by Cincinnati on Tuesday afternoon and with the 34-year-old available again, it makes too much sense for Kansas City to atone for their error and bring the Kansas native home.
Mike Pennel’s Release Can Help Chiefs Fix Training Camp Mistake
Pennel has been a reliable piece of the Chiefs’ run to dominance in the late 2010s and a Super Bowl title in 2023. In four seasons with Kansas City, Pennel has collected 82 total tackles with six tackles for loss and four sacks, but he isn’t expected to carry the pass rush next to Chris Jones. Instead, Pennel was a role player, coming in as a pass-rush specialist and opening things up for other players to make plays and defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s scheme.
While the Chiefs need defensive line help in the wake of Omarr Norman-Lott’s torn ACL suffered in a Week 7 win over the Las Vegas Raiders, Pennel may be a better fit for what they need.
Jones is still in his starting role but has fallen off dramatically, posting a 34.0 overall Pro Football Focus grade and failing to record a pressure in Monday’s win over the Commanders. Derrick Nnadi and Jerry Tillery have also recorded snaps on the inside, but both have been disappointing, with Tillery posting a 54.3 overall grade on 143 total snaps and Nnadi posting a 30.2 overall grade on 152 total snaps.
Spagnuolo would probably debate that assessment from PFF, but he also could agree that adding another defensive tackle is a strong move when he looks at his depth chart. It would also be a cheaper solution than acquiring one ahead of the Nov. 4 trade deadline and could take them out of a potential bidding war with other teams looking for upgrades, including the Buffalo Bills.
After letting a solid veteran walk in free agency, the Chiefs have a chance to sign Pennel and plug him back into the rotation, giving them a solid solution for Norman-Lott’s injury and making amends for one of their biggest offseason mistakes.