Lions free agent profile: Kevin Zeitler one of Detroit’s biggest dominoes

Detroit’s path to continued to success will be paved by the offensive line, and Kevin Zeitler could be key to getting the job done.

Our 2025 Detroit Lions free agent series continues, where we break down every single individual decision the team must make with their pending free agent class ahead of this offseason.

Next up in the series is a player who the Lions plugged into their offensive line and were rewarded with nearly All-Pro caliber play: Kevin Zeitler.

Here’s a look at our previously-written free agent profiles: WR Tim Patrick

Kevin Zeitler

Expectations heading into 2024

The Lions had a hole in their offensive line when Jonah Jackson decided to sign with the Los Angeles Rams early on in the free agency cycle, but they didn’t bother waiting until the draft to take care of that need. Detroit opted to sign Kevin Zeitler to a one-year, $6 million deal to replace the loss of Jackson, albeit in a roundabout way. The 12-year veteran came to Detroit with the reputation of being an iron man, playing over 1,000 snaps in all but three of his NFL seasons—and primarily doing so at right guard.

So it was Graham Glasgow, coming off an impressive 2023 season where he filled in at right guard and earned himself a contract extension the same day Jackson left for Los Angeles, who needed to move to the other side of Frank Ragnow and make room for Zeitler. Despite knowing the kind of difficult transition it could pose for Glasgow, his versatility assuaged any concerns, and with the arrival of Zeitler, the Lions looked like they were still set up to have one of the best offensive lines in football.

After all, Zeitler’s best ability wasn’t simply his availability. He had been one of the most consistently great guards in the NFL for a decade, especially in pass protection. Zeitler had finished seven seasons as a top-10 guard by PFF’s pass-blocking efficiency (EFF) stat which measures pressure allowed on a per snap basis with a weighting towards sacks allowed. Coming off his first Pro Bowl season in 2023 where he posted the ninth-best EFF rating, he wasn’t a slouch in the run game by any means either, placing 33rd among 64 qualifying guards in PFF’s run block grade.

Detroit was entering the 2024 season with lofty expectations for their offense, and the offensive line—fortified with the addition of Zeitler—felt like it was ready to deliver good on those expectations.

Actual role in 2024

Note: PFF grades combine regular season and playoffs and reflect a minimum 20% snaps at that position

16 games (16 starts)
PFF grade: 86.8 (4th among 83 qualifying OTs — minimum 236 snaps)
PFF pass blocking grade: 71.8 (21st of 78)
PFF run blocking grade: 87.2 (2nd of 81)

The Lions got the exact kind of player as advertised in Zeitler. Not only was he his usual durable self—playing over 1,000 snaps for yet another season—Zeitler submitted one of his better seasons in the NFL at age 34. Although he did surrender a career-high five sacks according to PFF, there was a brief adjustment period over the first month of the season that offensive line coach Hank Fraley noted in September:

“He’s done well. Early on, he had his hiccups there, but we’re meshing well, and he brings experience to the table. Like this year, he played every opponent we played so far last year. He played Arizona. He’s doing well. He fits in well with the group, he brings a different leadership in that room with his experience and knowledge. The guys get along well. The o-line room, if you haven’t been part of it, it’s special. I like to say everybody wants to be like that, and it is a special feeling.”

Two of Zeitler’s five sacks allowed came during those first four weeks of the season, as well as six of the 18 total pressures he surrendered in 2024. After that adjustment period, Zeitler settled in quite well and was charged with just three sacks and 12 pressures allowed over his next 12 games. His 97.9 EFF rating on the season was t-19th among guards with at least 162 pass-blocking snaps in 2024 (Zeitler played 577), and those 18 pressures allowed was t-21st. If you kick that threshold up to 500 pass-blocking snaps, Zeitler ranked t-5th among 49 qualifying guards.

While he was his usual self in pass pro after settling in, Zeitler’s run blocking really took off in Detroit. He finished the regular season as the NFL’s second-highest rated guard in PFF’s run-blocking grade (87.2) which was also a career-high for Zeitler, besting his previous mark of 82.8 with the Cincinnati Bengals a decade ago.

Outlook for 2025

Contract status: Unrestricted free agent

As mentioned earlier, Zeitler, who will turn 35 before the start of free agency, is facing unrestricted free agency after signing that one-year, $6 million contract with Detroit last offseason.

Pros of re-signing

If the Lions re-sign Zeitler, the starting offensive line would be in great shape ahead of the 2025 season in terms of talent and continuity. It would also help provide a runway for Detroit to work on their future plans at the position without having to overdraft a guard to fill an immediate need. In turn, it gives more time for players like Christian Mahogany, Colby Sorsdal, and Kayode Awosika (who is currently a restricted free agent) to continue their development while affording the Lions an opportunity to see what they have in-house at the position moving forward.

Cons of re-signing

Re-signing Zeitler helps in the immediate, but it doesn’t do much for Detroit’s long-term outlook at guard, and therein lies the biggest possible con of bringing back Zeitler: Brad Holmes not doing much else at the guard position this offseason. Not saying he would, but there are other pressing needs to tend to in the draft including the defensive line (and likely double-dipping here on the edge and the interior), linebacker, and wide receiver to name a few.

Is there interest from both sides?

The obvious has been stated and reappears here again in terms of Zeitler’s age and willingness to continue his football career. As long as he’s interested in playing football, his time in Detroit was a successful one, and there’s no reason to believe he wouldn’t be interested in running things back this late in his career. However, Zeitler has been on the move for much of his career, playing for five teams in total over his 13-year career, and three different teams over the past five seasons.

But the team is clearly pleased with the job he did this year, from Fraley’s comments above to what Holmes mentioned in his end-of-the-year press conference:

“Yeah, I thought Zeitler did a good job this year. 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 dialog and just kind of see where it goes.”

It seems like the Lions are certainly interested in Zeitler to return and will keep in contact with the veteran lineman to see if he intends on playing in 2025.

Cost?

Another one-year deal in the $6 million range feels like a fair offer for Zeitler at this point in his career. He was the 15th-highest paid right guard in 2024 according to Over The Cap, and if you’re the Lions and want to ensure the nomadic Zeitler stays in Detroit instead of going to the highest bidder, you could sweeten that deal. Detroit still has some flexibility in there budget this offseason to do so—in 2026, not so much.

Conclusion

Zeitler had a great season in 2024, but simply swapping him out for Mahogany—who I’m definitely a fan of—and rolling with Mahogany and Glasgow on either side of Ragnow feels like a downgrade for the offensive line in 2025. Mahogany impressed in his spot-start duty, and he represents the best of what the Lions currently have on their roster in terms of depth and potential along the interior of its offensive line. That being said, to assume Zeitler will just have another phenomenal season in spite of Father Time could be viewed as borderline presumptuous, but when you consider his play last season being some of the best in his career, a steep fall off in play doesn’t seem likely.

Glasgow would be good, versatile depth—albeit expensive—on his current cap hit of $7.4 million. But If Zeitler is up to playing for another year, re-signing him on a one-year, $6-7 million deal while having Mahogany and Glasgow battle it out in camp for the starting spot opposite of him feels fair to all parties involved—and in the best interest for the Detroit Lions right now and in the future.