During his press conference wrapping up the 2023 season, Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes reinforced the bottom line for how he approaches signing players in free agency.
"Look, the reality is this, everyone can't play here. Everyone can't play for the Detroit Lions, and that's just the reality, and that's just the standard that has been set."
The Lions value culture fit just as much (and maybe more) than a player's talent. Paraphrasing something Holmes also said, talent is a surface-level pre-requisite that isn't necessarily a differentiator from one player to another. Which makes perfect sense.
To kickoff the second week of free agency, the Lions agreed to a one-year deal with veteran guard Kevin Zeitler on Monday evening and the team announced the signing on Tuesday.
Ari Meirov of The 33rd Team has reported the deal has a base value of $6 million. It's unclear what other offers Zeitler had out there, but even at 34 years old his track record opens up the idea he could have gotten more.
Kevin Zeitler will fit in perfectly with the Detroit Lions, if there was any doubt
Zeitler spoke to reporters via Zoom on Tuesday. He said the Lions reached out to his agent at the start of free agency, and while a deal took a little while to be done he's glad it did.
"Took a little longer than we thought it would but glad to be here," Zeitler said Tuesday. "It all worked out. Really excited to meet everyone today and definitely made the right decision."
As expected, Zeitler is looking forward to stepping in between Frank Ragnow and Penei Sewell.
"It's awesome. 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 I'm going to do whatever I can to raise my level and make sure we get our job done on the right side."
Zeitler registered the second-best pass blocking grade from Pro Football Focus last season, and his track record of durability along with proficiency as both a pass and run blocker speaks for itself. He has missed just five games over the last nine seasons, with five total sacks allowed over the last three.
It also means he'll hone his craft anywhere, as Robert Griffin III posted upon the news of the Lions signing him.
Kevin Zeitler is the embodiment of a “bite off knee caps” type of player. The man was doing pass blocking sets at the hospital while his wife was in labor. He will fit right in there in Detroit. https://t.co/xH5uKwXvKg pic.twitter.com/LWXxURN2LF
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) March 18, 2024
Via Kyle Meinke of MLive, Zeitler addressed that viral video.
"Anyone who knows me knows I’ll pass set anywhere, any time,” Zeitler said.“Just started doing it there, and she thought it was funny, so she decided to film me. Had no idea. Kind of funny bringing it back up again two years later.”
Rarely missing games. One of best all-around guards in the entire league. Possibly off the radar of a lot of teams as a free agent due to his age. Doing pass-blocking sets while his wife was in labor, and presumably other un-filmed locations. Zeitler will fit in very nicely with the Lions, if there was any doubt at all.