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Mike Payton talks about the loss of Detroit Lions guard Kevin Zeitler in NFL free agency last week, to the Tennessee Titans, and where the Lions go from here to replace him.
*The Lions Have A BIG Problem After Week 1 Of NFL Free Agency...*
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0:00
The Lions had their biggest free agency loss this week when they lost Kevin Zeitler to the Tennessee Titans
0:06
It's going to be a hard one to get over. But let's talk about it and let's talk about some of the options the Lions will have going forward
0:17
Hi, I'm Mike Payne from A to Z Sports, Detroit. And today we're going to talk about the loss of Kevin Zitler and how you recover from the loss of Kevin Zitler
0:25
So coming into free agency, you know, this. This was the big thing that the Lions needed to do
0:32
The Lions wanted to get Kevin Zitler back. Lions GM Brad Holmes talked about it right after Detroit was exited out of the playoffs by the Washington commanders
0:42
said talks were already ongoing and the lines were trying to get that done to continue to build in that trenches and stabilize that offensive line
0:51
That was a huge, huge need for this team. And it just didn't work out
0:55
At the end of the day, Kevin Zitler got a $9 million, one-year deal
1:00
to go play for the Tennessee Titans which is where a lot of his family lives So you can understand why he decided to go do that It probably going to be his last year in the NFL So you go and you start somewhere where you my family
1:16
I can't hate him for doing that. But it puts the Lions in a position where they may need to pour some more money into the guard position or maybe draft one early
1:27
Right now you have Christian Mahogany who, while he showed a lot of promise in the couple starts
1:34
that he had, including the playoff game against Washington, he was pretty good
1:39
This is a guy who didn't have the full season last year. Remember, he was on the NFI list for most of the year
1:44
He showed up later. They were able to put him right in
1:48
And when he did play, he was really good. And it seems like, hey, he's ready to be a starter
1:54
And if they go that route, that's perfectly fine. I think they'll be successful
1:58
I think this is a good player. I think they'll be glad that they did that. And then next there's Graham Glass Cowell on the left side
2:04
came back in 2023, earned that starting spot, did really well there after camp
2:11
You know was a guy that hey he looked like he was reborn after a couple of down years in Denver But in 2024 he had a bad year It just wasn very good He allowed a lot of sacks He wasn so great in the run blocking game
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And then you, you know, you wonder what they're going to do with him after this
2:31
He is a guy who's under contract in 2025. He could be somewhat of a cap casualty
2:36
The Lions could save some money if they were to part ways with him. I don't know if they'll do that
2:40
I don't necessarily think they should do that. I think he would be great off the bench, but I don't know if going forward, do you want him to be a starter
2:48
So the options to get somebody else in that offensive line who you feel really good about, well, you know, there's a few
2:57
The first one is you could go with Brandon Sheriff, who just got let go by the Jacksonville Jaguars
3:03
It's a cap casualty, a cost-cutting move. A really good player. Multiple-time pro bowler was an all-pro once as well
3:10
like this is a very good player can play the right side can play the left side i think if the lines
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were going to go ahead and get him much like kevin zitler kind of an older player you could probably
3:22
sign him to a one year eight to nine million dollar deal much like what zitler just got in tennessee and that help stabilize the line offensive line going forward And I don see you see any drop off there
3:34
The next move is you go to the draft and you hope to God that somebody like Marcus Mbo or
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Gray Zabel or somebody, Donovan Jackson, will fall to you in a right spot
3:47
And that's a guy, all three of those guys can play not only guard but tackle as well
3:51
I think that, you know, that's the, that's the end game. That's what the Lions have to do
3:57
They have to replace Kevin Zitler, and you can either do that with an older player
4:00
or you could do that with a rookie, or you could do that with both. And that's kind of the way I think the Lion should go
4:05
I think they should be looking for that veteran guard that can come in, hold down that line in a very important season
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and then make way after that for the young guard to come in and take over
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And we'll see what the Lions wide up doing, Free Agency is still fresh
4:23
It's Wednesday when we're recording this. Free agency opened up just a couple hours ago
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actual free agency, the new league year, not just the tampering period stuff
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We'll see where things go, and we'll see you next time
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