Michael Maurice Pennel Jr. (born May 9, 1991) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

nose tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the l ...

for the Chicago Bears of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played college football at

Scottsdale Community College Scottsdale Community College is a public community college in Scottsdale, Arizona. It is on the eastern boundary of the city on 160 acres (650,000 m2) of land belonging to the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. The lease was taken out i ...

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

, and CSU-Pueblo and was signed by the Green Bay Packers as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2014.

College career

Pennel played college football at

, Arizona State University and

Colorado State University Pueblo Colorado State University Pueblo (CSU Pueblo) is a public university in Pueblo, Colorado. It is a member of the Colorado State University System (CSU System) and a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). History 1933 to 1959 The idea for startin ...

. He was suspended indefinitely by Arizona State in 2012 for comments he made over

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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 Jayrone Carez Elliott (born November 11, 1991) is an American football outside linebacker who is currently a free agent. He played college football at Toledo, and was signed by the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent in 2014. College ...

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, one sack, and one 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 eight 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 The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The ...

signed Pennel. On January 19, 2020, Pennel helped the Chiefs reach the Super Bowl after helping defeat the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their hom ...

in the AFC Championship Game. In

Super Bowl LIV Super Bowl LIV was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2019 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Kansas City Chiefs defeated the National Football Conferenc ...

, Pennel recorded one tackle in the Chiefs 31–20 victory against the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

. On April 6, 2020, Pennel was re-signed to a one-year contract. He was suspended for the first two games of the 2020 season on August 25, 2020. He was reinstated from suspension and activated to the roster on September 23, 2020.

Chicago Bears

On June 18, 2021, Pennel signed a one-year deal with the Chicago Bears. He was placed on injured reserve on August 24, 2021. He was released on August 31.

Atlanta Falcons

On September 15, 2021, Pennel was signed to the Atlanta Falcons practice squad. On October 5, 2021, Pennel was promoted to the Falcons active roster.

Chicago Bears (second stint)

Pennel signed with the Chicago Bears on June 13, 2022. He was released on September 9, and re-signed to the practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on September 12. Pennel appeared in all 17 games for the Bears, where he recorded 26 total tackles and one forced fumble. He was ejected from the team’s Week 6 contest against the New England Patriots for delivering a blind-sided block that concussed center David Andrews.

Statistics

''Source
NFL.com
'

References

External links

Kansas City Chiefs bio

Green Bay Packers bio

CSU–Pueblo ThunderWolves bio

Arizona State Sun Devils bio
*
Never Was a Plan B
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pennel, Mike 1991 births Living people Players of American football from Kansas Sportspeople from Topeka, Kansas Players of American football from Colorado Sportspeople from Aurora, Colorado American football defensive tackles Scottsdale Fighting Artichokes football players Arizona State Sun Devils football players CSU Pueblo ThunderWolves football players Green Bay Packers players Kansas City Chiefs players New York Jets players New England Patriots players Chicago Bears players Atlanta Falcons players