Mike Pennel’s reason for signing with the Bengals will make Cincinnati fans even more excited about the upcoming season
Pennel is on board with the Bengals for good reason.
New Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle Mike Pennel might be on the practice squad for now, but he’s hoping to help the team make it back to the playoffs this season.
Pennel, who was released by the Kansas City Chiefs last week, labeled Cincinnati as a team ready to make the postseason after his first practice wearing Bengals colors.
“It was unexpected, me leaving K.C.,” Pennel told WLWT’s Charlie Clifford Monday afternoon. “But I was looking for the best opportunity with a playoff-ready team, and thank God Cincinnati came up.”
Mike Pennel believes Bengals are primed for playoff return
Pennel is fresh off playing in every single game during the Chiefs’ three-peat attempt last season. He’s already climbed the mountain twice and has two rings to prove it, and has played in as many postseason games as there are in an NFL team’s regular season.
Being a part of a playoff team is what drives the 34-year-old nose tackle to keep pushing 12 years into his career.
“Competitive edge, man, love of the game,” Pennel told Clifford. “Anytime you can play for somebody that has a genuine chance in the playoffs and even further, it’s not hard to get up and do it when you got that opportunity.”
Pennel has played in seven postseason games since the Bengals were last in the bracket, and yet, the experienced veteran, who has been a part of 13 playoff wins to just four losses, identified Cincinnati as a team primed to return.
That affirms what many in the building already believe, and fans should be excited to hear it as well.
Missing the playoffs in back-to-back years has been tough for Cincinnati and its fan base. Every year Joe Burrow and Co. spend January on the couch instead of playing under the lights is a wasted opportunity.
This year becomes all the more important to buck the trend, and Pennel now has a hand in doing so.
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