Yesterday, Adam Schefter reported that Ravens guard Kevin Zeitler “will be a full participant in Baltimore’s mandatory minicamp” and more notably, that he is “still in search of a new contract, but he will report.”
I, for one, had not heard a peep about KZ looking for a new contract at any point in this offseason, but if we’re being honest, dude deserves it.
The lazy take against extending Zeitler beyond his current contract which ends after the 2023 season is a combination of age (33 years young), a perspective that offensive guard is an easily replaceable position, and wanting to allocate financial resources to shiny toys on offense and defenses instead.
Those points are all certainly valid… sort of.
But the reality is that the Ravens should absolutely be discussing an extension with KZ.
The easy point in favor of an extension is the video of Zeitler working on sets while his wife was in the hospital about to pop their baby out. We have a slew of dudes out here in the NFL refusing to show up to camps, mailing it in during practices, half-assing it when their team is down on Sundays… and Zeitler is out here like using breathing exercises of an in-labor wife as a simulated QB cadence.
We can also lean into his reliability and availability on an offensive line that’s really been through some stuff during his tenure in Baltimore. KZ has played in 32 out of 34 games for Baltimore in two seasons with the team, while we’ve watched every other position on the offensive line subjected to injuries, departing vets, or rookie starts.
And oh, by the way?
He’s actually pretty damn good.
Zeitler has allowed just three sacks on 2,176 snaps during his time as a Raven thus far, he accounted for just a singular accepted penalty last season, and… I hate being that guy… but a quick look at PFF grades because my eye test won’t convince anybody and I’m surely not an OL guru by any means:
2021 PFF Grade: 74.0
2022 PFF Grade: 75.1
The fact that Zeitler has been consistently in the 74-84 range for his entire NFL career is telling about what a rock he’s been on every offensive line that he’s been a part of. The reality is that Zeitler is our present day Matt Birk (an aging vet OL that kept on crushing it in Baltimore), or if you want to stick to the OG position, he’s giving us a great continuation of what we had in the latter years of Marshal Yanda (who played until age 35, by the way).
And just how did the Ravens handle late-career Yanda in terms of a contract?
They essentially gave the player a year-by-year extension until he was ready for retirement, which is exactly how I think the Ravens should handle Zeitler at this stage. His current cap hit is coming in around $7.5M, and while his play – alongside increased value – would suggest a higher APY, father time remains undefeated, and will have a thing to say about the payday.
I think the $6-7M range would be fair market value for sure, and I’d be more than happy to continue throwing Kevin Zeitler one-year extensions every offseason as long as he wants to continue on in the league.
5 Responses
I agree. Stanley played strong when he played. Linderbaum played like a vet and should only get better. We added Moses and KZ and they really strengthened the line. Both were great additions and were dependable. That’s my problem. Can we keep both in the future?
I am impressed with the additions to the OL in the past 2 years by EDC. We have youngsters in Faalele, Cleveland, Lalu, Voorhees and Simpson who should be able to work into the OL in the future. We also have some vet experience in Mekari.
The question in the end will be right player, right price. We are fortunate because it appears we have a top rated OL based on last season’s performance. What happens after this season? Will KZ want to come back at a team friendly deal or will he want more money elsewhere? Both Moses and KZ are quality OL. Let’s enjoy this season.
I think KZ is a dependable top tier OG. I would love to see him here for a few more years. The same as with Moses. I would love to see this OL stay together for several more years.
Here’s the dilemma. We only have so much money to spend. EDC has done a good job of bringing alot of youth in for the future. We have Cleveland, Faalele, Laulu, and Vorhees. We also have Mekari and added Mustipher and Simpson as vets.
Will we have the money to keep Zeitler? Can he remain healthy and maintain his high level of play? Will he be willing to return for a team friendly deal? I’d love to see him here for several more years but we’ll have to wait and see. This may be a special season so let’s just enjoy it. Every thing else will take care of itself.
Certain players have an “it” factor that demands different treatment. Zeitler has “it” and the Ravens should recognize it and reward him with the security that he is looking for.
Pay KZ.
What about Andrew Voorhees? Is he a bust?