Detroit Lions bringing back Zach Zenner on one-year deal
The Detroit Lions are addressing their running back position, agreeing to bring back veteran Zach Zenner on a one-year deal Tuesday.
The Detroit Lions experienced a running game revolution in 2018. After years of toiling at the bottom of NFL rankings in rushing, the Motor City finally found it’s footing last season. And that due in large part to the draft.
The Lions traded up in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft to select Auburn running back Kerryon Johnson. And the impressive rookie posted two 100-yard games in Detroit last season. Something that hadn’t been done in Motown since the days of Reggie Bush back in 2013.
Unfortunately, Johnson was limited to only 10 games last season due to a knee injury. But the rookie runner was able to post 641 rushing yards and three touchdowns while averaging an impressive 5.4 yards per carry.
Without Johnson on the field for the last six games of the season, Detroit turned to a familiar face to maintain it’s running momentum. And that was veteran running back Zach Zenner. The 27-year old posted impressive numbers to end the season, rushing for 237 yards on the ground and three scores in the Lions’ final four games.
On Tuesday, Zenner was rewarded by Detroit with a new one-year contract. That news was first reported by Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. The exact details of the deal are unknown at this time.
Signed as an undrafted free agent out of South Dakota State in 2015, Zenner was an absolute beast coming out of college, having run for more than 2,000 yards in three straight seasons for the Jackrabbits.
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During his four years in Detroit, Zenner has been a primary backup and special teams player. He’s only started in a total of six games during his career with the Lions and he was actually released by the team last September due to a back injury. A healthy Zenner was re-signed in November to replace Ameer Abdullah after he was waived by Detroit. The veteran is projected to be the primary backup to Kerryon Johnson in 2019.