Bengals Sign DT Mike Pennel

Mike Pennel has a deal lined up in time for Week 1 shortly after becoming a free agent. The veteran defensive tackle is set to join the Bengals, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports.

This will be a practice squad arrangement, per Fowler. An elevation to the active roster could be in store in relatively short order, though. Pennel is a veteran of 125 appearances and 25 starts in the NFL. His Cincinnati signing is now official.

Pennel played on a one-year Chiefs pact in 2024, and he was retained by Kansas City in March on a contract of the same length. That appeared to set up the 34-year-old for a third consecutive Chiefs campaign during his second stint with the franchise. Pennel was among the team’s roster cuts last week, however.

Instead of remaining in place on Kansas City’s practice squad, the former UDFA will head to Cincinnati. The Bengals will be Pennel’s sixth career team, with his second Chiefs stint being preceded by time with the Packers, Jets, Falcons and Bears. Never a full-time starter on defense or a known presence in the pass rush department, he set a new career high with three sacks in 2024.

Pennel will look to carve out a role along the defensive interior whenever he finds himself on the active roster. The two-time Super Bowl winner is joining a group featuring returnee B.J. Hill, free agent signing T.J. Slaton and 2024 draftees Kris Jenkins and McKinnley Jackson. Cincinnati ranked 19th against the run last season, and improvement in that department will be a goal under new defensive coordinator Al Golden. 

The Bengals entered Monday with roughly $17MM in cap space, more than enough afford what will be an inexpensive Pennel addition. It will be interesting to see how early he receives a gameday elevation or winds up being promoted to the active roster.