It took until the second week of the proceedings to happen, but the Detroit Lions got one of the steals of 2024 NFL Free Agency when they signed guard Kevin Zeitler to a one-year, $6 million deal. He went on to have one of the best seasons of his long career, posting the third-best overall grade and the second-best run blocking grades among guards from Pro Football Focus.
Zeiter will turn 35 right before free agency starts (March 8), but there are no signs he’s slowing down and the injuries that cost him two games this past season (including the playoffs) were not significant. Any speculation about retirement was put to bed by his wife Sarah referring to “Year 14” on social media after the Lions’ playoff loss to the Commanders.
It’s unlikely a team will go beyond two years in his next contract, but he is a practical lock to get toward $10 million per year. Spotrac has his projected market value at $9.2 million, with a projected one-year deal.
At his season-ending press conference, Lions general manager Brad Holmes praised Zeitler and talked about his upcoming free agency.
“I thought Zeitler did a good job this year,” Holmes said. “It’s different when you’re changing completely different schemes and kind of early on, he kind of had to get used to how we were doing things, but once he got adjusted into that, I thought he did a really good job. A player of that age, you’ve just got to have conversations with him. We had conversations on exit day and then we’ll just continue to have dialogue and just kind of see where it goes.”
A strong effort to bring Zeitler back is a no-brainer for the Lions, and it’s very possible he’ll want to come back on another one-year deal, and this time for below what he could get elsewhere. But as is the case with any free agent, he should see what else is out there on the open market. If he comes back to the Lions for less than other teams are offering, then that’s his prerogative.
Here are four teams who could poach Zeitler from the Lions in free agency.
4 teams who could sign Kevin Zeitler away from the Lions in free agency
4. Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs’ offensive line issues were put on full display in Super Bowl LIX. Right guard Trey Smith is a free agent in line to leave for greener pastures, but he also struggled against good teams this past season (h/t to The Viking Age).
“In eight matchups against non-playoff teams in the 2024 season, Smith averaged a 72.1 pass-blocking grade from PFF. During Kansas City’s 12 contests against playoff teams in the 2024 campaign, the veteran guard saw his PFF pass-blocking grade average drop to 57.6.”
Zeitler settled in nicely as a pass blocker this past season after some early struggles, so he’s easy to see as a noticeable upgrade over Smith. If we learned anything from the last time the Chiefs lost a Super Bowl, under similar circumstances, they will devote all the resources they can to improving their offensive line this offseason. On that front, Zeitler is a particular fit because he’ll be cheaper than Smith on a shorter deal. But maybe they’ll create enough cap space to make a very aggressive offer Zeitler will have a hard time turning away from.
3. Minnesota Vikings
Citing lackluster play from their interior offensive line (a league-high interior pressure rate of 18.8 percent), Pro Football Focus named the Vikings as the best free agency landing spot for Zeitler. Minnesota’s need for upgrades at guard dates back so far it’s hard to remember when it wasn’t some level of need, and they’ve never really aggressively addressed it.
With the fifth-most effective cap space in the league right now ($55.7 million, according to Over The Cap), the Vikings have the means to pull few financial punches in search of competent guard play.
An aggressive, “offer he can’t refuse” to Zeitler would have the added benefit of leaving the Lions in search of an option to replace him if he takes it.
2. Houston Texans
The Texans’ offensive line was simply bad this past season. The lackluster play up front played a big role in C.J. Stroud’s second year struggles, while also taking offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik from multiple head coaching interviews a year ago to unemployed now.
Jordan Dajani of CBS Sports named Zeitler the one free agent Houston should prioritize.
“Adding a veteran Pro Bowl guard like Kevin Zeitler would be a great idea for Houston. While he’s about to turn 35, Zeitler is still playing at a very high level and is a leader in the locker room.”
The Texans know they must prioritize getting Stroud back on track. That really starts by doing what they can to upgrade the offensive line, and Zeitler does look like an ideal fit.
1. Chicago Bears
As Ben Johnson brings his offense from the Lions to the Bears and tries to replicate the culture in Detroit, Zeitler stands as a free agent he could effort to bring with him. Chicago’s primary starting guards this past season (Teven Jenkins and Matt Pryor) weren’t awful, but they are both free agents. Jenkins feels like a lock to be gone, and if Pryor is back he’d ideally be a versatile backup, not a starter. And overall, the Bears offensive line was ranked just 24th by Pro Football Focus for the 2024 season and Johnson directly addressed that during his introductory press conference.
“I think the offensive line is certainly an area that we need to get better play from going forward,” Johnson said
Caleb Williams didn’t do his pass protection any favors as a rookie, but the Bears do need to upgrade their offensive line where they can and the three interior starters are lined up to be completely turned over. Zeitler would be a nice short-term solution, and the Bears could pony up with the best offer he’d see on the open market.
