Bengals Place Lucas Patrick on Injured Reserve, Promote Veteran to 53-Man Roster

CINCINNATI — The Bengals signed veteran defensive tackle Mike Pennel to the 53-man roster and put guard Lucas Patrick on injured reserve.

Patrick suffered a calf injury in Sunday's season opener against the Browns. He'll miss at least four games with the injury.

Pennel, 34, gave the Bengals' defensive line a major boost in their win over the Browns. They held Cleveland to just three yards-per-carry.

The veteran was impressive in his debut, finishing with the highest-stop rate (19%) among defensive linemen with 20+ snaps according to NFL+. The Bengals signed Pennel on Monday, Sept. 1. He made his debut six days later.

"I think he played about 22 plays per game last year in every single game all through the Super Bowl," Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said after the win. "[We] watched all of his training camp stuff, all his preseason game stuff, and thought, this is an easy decision to get this guy over here. So it wasn't like we're pulling somebody off [the street] like Dalton (Risner), who hasn't been putting pads on and playing a little bit. Mike's been practicing and [he is] such an impressive [player] and right out the gate just a great guy to have in the locker room."

Pennel had four tackles in his debut with the Bengals. He's one of six defensive tackles the Bengals currently have on their 53-man roster. He joins TJ Slaton, BJ Hill, Kris Jenkins Jr., McKinnley Jackson and Howard Cross III.

Don't be surprised if the Bengals balance out their roster a bit and try to sneak Cross or Jackson onto the practice squad in the near future.

Practice Squad

The Bengals also signed defensive ends Myles Cole and Isaiah Foskey to the practice squad and waived Isaiah Thomas.

Mike Pennel had the highest stop rate (19%) among DL with 20+ snaps in Week 1, per NFL+.

No surprise the Bengals had one of the best run defense performances in the league vs. the Browns.

The guy is as strong as it gets in the middle of the defense. pic.twitter.com/wdJFGK4ZdX
— Gridiron Grading (@GridironGrading) September 9, 2025

For more on the Bengals, subscribe to our YouTube Channel and be sure to check us out on your favorite audio platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon.

Make sure you bookmark BengalsTalk.com for the latest Bengals news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!