KANSAS CITY, Mo. – One of the most surprising moves the Chiefs made on Tuesday during their roster reduction to 53 players was the release of defensive tackle Mike Pennel, a decision that wasn’t easy for general manager Brett Veach.
I think with every position group, we’re trying to get better, and we’re trying to add competition,” Veach said Thursday. “I think that was one position group we were trying to continually get deeper, get younger, get more athletic.”
The decision to move on from the 34-year-old Pennel was made after the club acquired Derrick Nnadi in a trade with the New York Jets. Nnadi – who shares a May 9 birthday with Pennel – is 29 years old and played in 17 regular-season games the past four seasons. The only game he’s missed in his NFL career is when he sat out the 2020 finale, a 38-21 loss to the Chargers in which most of the team’s starters were benched.
I think when it came to Derrick, probably similar level of play than what we’ve seen, but both those guys have, over the years, played and helped us out in games,” Veach said. But I do think you take in consideration just the length of the season…. If you had to do a slight edge, it was just, you know, four or five years younger, and a guy that’s played a lot of reps– but look, I mean, we’re still active at that position.”
Nnadi wasn’t the only acquisition the Chiefs attempted to make. The club had discussions with Cleveland regarding defensive tackle Jowon Briggs, but the Browns opted for the Jets’ offer of a 2026 sixth-round pick rather than Kansas City’s sixth rounder.
“I think throughout training camp, that was one positional group that we were a little bit more active than others, and we had a couple teams — we had some dialogue with some teams with some players, and those players end up not being moved.”
The Chiefs currently have four defensive tackles on the roster – three primary pass rushers and 3-tech linemen in Chris Jones, Omarr Norman-Lott and Jerry Tillery, plus the run-defending 1-tech in Nnadi. But the club has stocked its practice squad with defensive tackles, including Marlon Tuipulotu and Coziah Izzard from their offseason roster, and bringing in former Detroit nose tackle Broderic Martin and former Chicago defensive tackle Zacch Pickens.
“That’s just a position that we’re kind of hyper-focused on and trying to get that competition better and get more consistency,” Veach explained.
“We have two young guys that if these guys start flashing that practice, and we think it’s going to be an upgrade, there’s a chance that those guys are elevated and getting opportunities,” he added. “And if they don’t get it done, we’ll look for somebody else if they don’t get it.”
Veach also left the door open for Pennel to return later in the season.
“I think we’d always be open to that for sure,” Veach said. “Mike’s a guy that, I mean, he’s a special human being, and we love Mike, and he’s one of those guys that I feel every time we’ve gotten him back in short spurts, it’s been the best he has.
“I mean, even at his age, he’s a juice guy, he’s an energy guy, we love him, so certainly keeping that door open as well. I think all options are open for us at that position.”
