The Bengals' senior man could very well suddenly be Mike Pennel, the massive former Chiefs nose tackle who logged six tackles in the last Super Bowl they won.
The 6-4, 330-pound Pennel signed to the Bengals' 16th and final practice squad slot Monday, but if he gets elevated for a game it's going to be the 139th of his career as he begins his 11th NFL season.
Pennel, 34, initially looked to make the Chiefs' roster last week after playing in four of their Super Bowls and in the last two. But when they opted for a pass rusher later in the week, he went looking for a team that had Joe Burrow at quarterback. Even if it meant the practice squad.
Many teams could use a vet run-stopper at this point.
"But every team is not right on that brink," Pennel said. "Cincinnati is one of those teams every year they've got a chance for a Super Bowl with Nine at quarterback. That was a big part of it.
"They have premier players at each position. The division they're in is hard playoff football most of the time. Just an edge to come play good football for a good team."
Pennel played for Bengals defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery way back in his second and third seasons in Green Bay and crossed paths with right guard Lucas Patrick in Chicago three years ago.
"When you play long enough, you know a little bit of everything," Pennel said.
The Bengals open Sunday in Cleveland (1 p.m.-Cincinnati's FOX19) against Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski's run game that has given them problems. Since Stefanski took over in 2020, the Browns are 6-4 with three 200-yard rush games and three more that went for at least 148.
"His stature, his reputation. The fact he wanted to be here. Those are important to us and he brings a physical presence and obviously he can still do it at his age, which is great," said Bengals defensive coordinator Al Golden of the Pennel add.
"He's probably 320 pounds and he's got great length. He just understands the game. Can make the game small. We're going to work really hard here to get him up to speed with the playbook and see where he's at by the end of the week."
Footnote: One of Pennel's 25 career starts came last year against the Bengals in KC when the Chiefs won at the gun …