As soon as free agency opened last week, the Lions reached out to Kevin Zeitler. They knew they'd have a hole to fill on their offensive line, and they "made it known they wanted me to be here right away," Zeitler said.
"Took a little than we thought it would, but glad to be here," Zeitler said Tuesday after signing a one-year deal with the Lions worth a reported $6 million. "It all worked out. Really exciting to meet everyone today. I definitely made the right decision."
A 12-year vet coming off his first Pro Bowl season, Zeitler will step in at guard after Jonah Jackson departed on a $51 million deal with the Rams. Zeitler will play on the right side, as he has throughout his career, and Graham Glasgow, who just re-signed with the Lions on a $20 million deal, will shift to the left to fill Jackson's spot. The exchange ensures that Detroit's offensive line will remain a strength.
Zeitler watched the Lions a lot last season while scouting mutual opponents with the Ravens. And seeing their O-line on film, "it was like, OK, they like to run the ball, they are taking over games, it’s all great stuff," he said. "And I'm honored the team wanted me to be a part of that."
"My only goal is to come in here, work my butt off and make sure I’m part of that standard that’s been set here," he said.
Jackson was a road-grader for the Lions. From a pass protection standpoint, Zeitler might make them even better. He's allowed a total of five sacks on 1,750 pass-blocking snaps over the last three seasons, per Pro Football Focus, which is no surprise for a player who was working on his pass sets in a hospital room while his wife was in labor two years ago with their second daughter. Zeitler clarified that "it was early in the process, nothing crazy had happened yet, and I had been sitting around for a while."
"Anyone who knows me knows that I’ll pass-set anywhere, anytime," he said. "So started doing it in there. She thought it was funny, so she decided to film me -- had no idea -- and all of a sudden it went viral."
It made the rounds again when Robert Griffin III reposted it this week, adding that Zeitler "is the embodiment of a 'bite off knee caps' type of player" who "will fit right in there in Detroit." Zeitler ranked fourth among qualified guards in pass-blocking in 2021, fifth in 2022 and second in 2023, per PFF. And he's no slouch as a run-blocker, helping power a top-three rushing attack each of those seasons with the Ravens. The Lions ranked fifth in rushing last season.
"Got a chance to talk with Coach Campbell, and his energy, his views on things, I think we’re going to mesh together really well," Zeitler said.
Zeitler helped Ravens running backs average 4.5 yards per carry on rushes between the tackles last season, per NFL Next Gen Stats, which ranked fifth in the league. The Lions on such runs ranked third, with Jackson a big part of it. Zeitler is plenty capable of maintaining the standard on the right side of the line between an All-Pro tackle in Penei Sewell and a Pro Bowl center in Frank Ragnow.
"I always want to play with great players, and obviously you can’t get much better than those two," he said. "Going to insert myself and do whatever I can to raise my level and make sure we get our job done on the right side."
Zeitler is 34, but highly durable. The Lions can count on him to be on the field, which wasn't always the case with Jackson, who missed 10 games the past two seasons with various injuries. Zeitler has missed just five games the past nine seasons, suiting up in 146 of 151 possible contests for the Bengals, Browns, Giants and Ravens. Asked how much pride he takes in being out there on Sunday, Zeitler said, "Oh, it’s everything."
"The biggest thing you can contribute to this league is availability," he said. "Like, no one cares why you’re not on the field. You need to be out on the field. Luckily I’ve had a great body team, great trainers all the way from the start of my career that taught me great habits. And I’ve been lucky enough to avoid anything major and stay healthy, keep moving and keep going."
Zeitler has long been one of the league's steadiest players at his position. He's not a long-term solution for the Lions up front, but he could be a short-term upgrade -- for a team with Super Bowl aspirations. And he buys Detroit time to develop another stalwart guard within.
The Lions' offensive line is their engine; they couldn't let it stall. Zeitler will keep his foot on the gas. Asked about his long-awaited Pro Bowl nod last season, Zeitler called it a "very cool experience."
"I liked it," he said. "I’d like to do it again."