Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Mike Pennel is en route to his first Super Bowl this season.
Before joining Kansas City, he was signed by the New England Patriots in the offseason and was cut by the end of preseason. He’s now a key cog on the defensive line, which is something the Patriots could’ve used while trying to shore up their run defense this season.
He wasn’t happy with his time in New England, and it was largely due to a lack of ‘transparency’, according to NESN’s Zack Cox.
“I’ll definitely keep the particulars of that to myself,” Pennel said. “But it was just with how the preseason was going and everything like that, me being a veteran, I kind of knew what was going on with the (decreased) reps and everything like that. I didn’t really understand what was going on and didn’t really get any answers. So after that point, it was a little bit of confusion, a little bit of relief when I got cut. But I’m just glad to be somewhere with a lot more transparency.”
Pennel mentioned a disconnect with defensive line coach Bret Bielema, who is now a New York Giant. He also said that he’s much more comfortable with his current defensive line coach Brendan Daly, who was with New England from 2015-2018.
“It’s different when you go up to your coach and talk life and not just football,” Pennel said. “It’s different when you can have a different technique or be able to talk through techniques with your coach. Some places you can do that; some places you can’t. New England wasn’t the place to do that.”
New England’s defense was rock-solid in every aspect, except for the run game. The Patriots could’ve used Pennel to solidify the defensive line, but either way, he found himself on a contending team.
