Mike Pennel


Michael Maurice Pennel Jr. is an American football defensive tackle for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League. He played college football at Colorado State University–Pueblo and was signed by the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent in 2014.

College career

Pennel played college football at Scottsdale Community College, Arizona State University and Colorado State University–Pueblo. He was suspended indefinitely by Arizona State in 2012 for comments he made over Twitter and transferred to Colorado State University-Pueblo.

Professional career

Green Bay Packers

After going undrafted in the 2014 NFL Draft, Pennel signed with the Green Bay Packers on May 12, 2014. Pennel joined Jayrone Elliott as undrafted players to make the Packers roster. During his rookie season in 2014, Pennel made 13 game appearances with 8 tackles. In 2015, Pennel appeared in all 16 games, starting 5 of them with 24 tackles, 1 sack, and 1 forced fumble.
On February 19, 2016, Pennel was suspended for the first four games of the 2016 season due to violating the league's substance abuse policy. Pennel was then suspended for the final four games of the 2016 season for again violating the league's substance abuse policy. In 8 games of 2016, Pennel finished with seven tackles and a pass defended.
On January 9, 2017, Pennel was released by the Packers.

New York Jets

On February 6, 2017, Pennel was claimed off waivers by the New York Jets. He re-signed with the Jets on March 16, 2017. He played in all 16 games in 2017, recording a career-high 35 tackles.
On March 16, 2018, Pennel signed a three-year contract with the Jets.
On February 19, 2019, the Jets declined the option on Pennel's contract, making him a free agent at the start of the new league year.

New England Patriots

On March 14, 2019, Pennel signed a two-year contract with the New England Patriots. On August 26, 2019, Pennel was released by the Patriots.

Kansas City Chiefs

On October 19, 2019, the Kansas City Chiefs signed Pennel.
On January 19, 2020, Pennel helped the Chiefs reach the Super Bowl after helping defeat the Tennessee Titans in the AFC Championship Game. Opposing running back Derrick Henry was averaging 185 rushing yards per game in the playoffs before running into KC who held him to 69 rushing yards. In Super Bowl LIV, Pennel recorded 1 tackle in the Chiefs 31–20 victory against the San Francisco 49ers.
On April 6, 2020, Pennel was re-signed to a one-year contract.

Statistics

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