Mike Pennel’s future with K.C. Chiefs depends on Khalen Saunders

One of the many key free agents for the K.C. Chiefs this offseason is defensive tackle Mike Pennel. Pennel will be hitting the market as an unrestricted free agent for the second year in a row after signing a one-year deal to return to the team following a 2019 Super Bowl LIV win with the Chiefs.

Pennel was originally signed about halfway through the 2019 season in hopes of fixing the Chiefs’ run defense, and while it did take some time, the team turned a corner after adding Pennel. In fact, in just his second game with Kansas City in 2019, Pennel recorded 3 total tackles on just 30% of the snaps as the Chiefs held Dalvin Cook, the leading rusher in the NFL at the time, to just 70 total yards.

While Pennel is not an all-world talent, he is good at what he was brought to K.C. to do: Being a good run stuffer and great locker room presence. He only plays a fraction of the snaps and typically does a good job in that role.

On top of being a solid player, Pennel is also from the area and even beat cancer as a young child at the Children’s Mercy Hospital in downtown Kansas City. Pennel has been a fan favorite since first arriving in Kansas City and even played a big part in helping the Chiefs to a Super Bowl. That makes Pennel’s return a heavy consideration for the the team. However, his days with the Chiefs may very well be over. It’s a difficult call to make.

That’s not because Pennel isn’t worth keeping, though. Pennel’s status with the team is moreso dependent on how the team feels about 2019 third-round pick Khalen Saunders than how they feel about Pennel. You see, this past season Saunders was inactive for all but one game, even after he returned from an elbow injury that kept him away for the first half of the season. Saunders’ fall was mostly due to the emergence of UDFA Tershwan Wharton who became a stud rookie in 2020. It remains to be seen whether or not Saunders can contribute, but the second-year top100 draft pick getting played off the field by an UDFA isn’t a great sign.

Mike Pennel’s ability to return to K.C. depends on Khalen Saunders.

How exactly does this relate to Pennel? Well, if the Chiefs think Saunders can be something, then letting Pennel go is the only way that can happen. Otherwise there’s just no room in the rotation for Chris Jones, Derrick Nnadi, Mike Pennel, Turk Wharton, and Khalen Saunders.

Pennel could return to Kansas City for a similar amount to last year ($1.05M) as he is familiar now and can fill gaps, which is an overall weakness for this team. Many will comment that the Chiefs should just bring back Pennel if they think he’s good enough, but it’s also possible that the Chiefs’ plan is for Saunders to take over Pennel’s role.

It’s also worth mentioning that Saunders will be cheaper than Pennel as he is on his rookie deal, so saving money where you can and letting Pennel go who only played 30% of the team’s snaps in 2020 anyway, seems more likely than not for the Chiefs.