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With a clear need at the defensive tackle spot, the Kansas City Chiefs filled a void by reuniting with an old friend this week. Given the season-ending ACL injury to rookie Omarr Norman-Lott, general manager Brett Veach wasted little time. Kansas City brought back veteran Mike Pennel on a deal for the remainder of the year. It was a quick-developing situation, albeit one the 34-year-old stopper is overjoyed about. Mike Pennel Opens up on How It Feels to Rejoin Chiefs Speaking to the media ahead of Week 9’s contest against the Buffalo Bills, Pennel described his initial feeling about being in Kansas City again. “It’s been crazy, man,” Pennel said. “The NFL experience. Just glad to be back. A lot of trips, a lot of stops, but glad to be here.” In order to make room for Pennel on the roster, the Chiefs waived longtime defensive end Malik Herring. It’s a not-so-long time coming for Pennel in a reunion that many expected following his release from the Cincinnati Bengals. After all, the Topeka, KS native initially joined the organization back in October of 2019, months before the team won its first Super Bowl championship in five decades. Pennel has 42 regular-season games under his belt as a Chief, and the team has won a ring both years he’s come back in-season. In those 42 contests, Pennel has recorded 82 tackles (6 for loss) with 4 sacks and a forced fumble. He’s logged 839 snaps for Steve Spagnuolo’s unit, not including the postseason, providing a run-stuffing presence on the field and quality leadership off it. Pennel knows his heart is in Kansas City, which is why it’s so easy to pick back up where he left off. “Oh absolutely,” Pennel said. “When you’ve been somewhere this long, you have connections with everybody from the janitor [to] the people who make food, players, coaches. It felt normal. I was just glad I’d be able to walk through those doors.” Pennel ‘Glad’ He Chose to Leave Bengals & Return to Kansas City It’s the nature of Pennel’s 2025 that’s perhaps the most interesting. For starters, the Chiefs re-signed him back in March but then released him in a surprise move at the roster cutdown deadline following the preseason. Veach and company seemingly thought Derrick Nnadi was a better — and younger — option on the interior, causing Pennel to find another home. That place wound up being Cincinnati, a bitter conference rival of Kansas City’s. The decision to part ways with Pennel frustrated many Chiefs fans, especially when he went on to play 22 productive snaps in a season-opening win over the Cleveland Browns. Weeks 7 and 8, however, Pennel played 17 snaps combined. He says he figured after Week 8’s 39-38 loss to the New York Jets that it was time to go. “Probably a little bit after the Jets game,” Pennel said. “I had some time to think — was talking with my family and everything. Didn’t really know what direction I was going to go after that. After everything happened with the release, I talked to a few people and they motivated me to see other opportunities were available. This opportunity lined up.” That’s right: Pennel requested his own release. For someone of his reputation and age, that’s always a tremendous risk. Despite that, he thinks everything worked out exactly how it should’ve. Pennel is in the right spot at the right time. “I mean, with any business move in the NFL, there’s no guarantee, so there’s always a risk,” Pennel said. “But I talked with the right people, I’m confident in my ability. We didn’t know how long it would be, we didn’t know where we were going. Once we laid out all the options [and] talked to all the people, glad we made the right move.”
