Kevin Zeitler ( ; born March 8, 1990) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

for the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, and earned consensus All-American honors. He was selected by the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

in the first round of the

2012 NFL Draft The 2012 NFL draft was the 77th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players for their rosters. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held ...

and he has also played for the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

and

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

Early years

Zeitler was born in

Waukesha, Wisconsin Waukesha ( ) is the county seat of Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. It is part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. Its population was 71,158 at the 2020 census. The city is adjacent to the Village of Waukesha. History The area that ...

. He attended

Wisconsin Lutheran High School Wisconsin Lutheran High School, commonly referred to as WLHS or Wisco, is a private preparatory religious high school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. WLHS was formed when the Lutheran High School in Milwaukee, founded in 1903, split in the 1950s over d ...

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

, and played for Wisconsin Lutheran Vikings high school football team. A three-year letterwinner in football, Zeitler was honored first-team all-conference, first-team all region and second-team all-area as a junior. In his senior year, he gathered first-team all-conference, conference lineman of the year, first-team all region, and first-team all-area honors. Regarded as a three-star recruit by

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

, Zeitler was ranked the No. 39 offensive guard prospect in his class. Coincidentally, the No. 1 offensive guard in this class was Trevor Robinson, who would later play alongside Zeitler for the

. Having numerous offers, Zeitler narrowed his decision down to Wisconsin and

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

, before eventually picking the Badgers.

College career

Zeitler attended the

University of Wisconsin-Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

, and played for the

Wisconsin Badgers football The Wisconsin Badgers football program represents the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the sport of American football. Wisconsin competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the W ...

team from 2008 to 2011. He was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American, having been named to the first-teams of the

American Football Coaches Association The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) is an association of over 11,000 American football coaches and staff on all levels. According to its constitution, some of the main goals of the American Football Coaches Association are to "mainta ...

(AFCA), the Associated Press and ''Pro Football Weekly'' as a senior in 2011. Zeitler joined teammates

Montee Ball Montee Ball Jr. (born December 5, 1990) is a former American football running back. He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He played college football at Wisconsin, where he was twice recognized as the be ...

and

Peter Konz Peter Konz (born June 9, 1989) is a former American football guard. He was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the second round of the 2012 NFL Draft. He played college football at Wisconsin. Early years Konz attended Neenah High School in Neenah, ...

as AFCA All-Americans.

Professional career

Even though "not a nifty or nimble lineman", Zeitler was described as "a solid prospect with the ability to be used in a power running offense." Projected to be a second round selection, Zeitler was ranked No. 4 among guards available in the

by ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...

''. Zeitler himself expected to be a second-rounder, having scheduled a draft-party for Day 2 of the Draft, before being surprised by the Bengals' late first-round selection. Zeitler was the eighth UW offensive lineman taken in the first round of an NFL draft since 1976, after

Dennis Lick Dennis Allan Lick (born April 26, 1954) is a former American football offensive tackle for the Chicago Bears. Lick played six seasons with the Bears from 1976 to 1981. He was signed out of the University of Wisconsin–Madison A universi ...

Ray Snell Ray Michael Snell (February 24, 1958 – September 28, 2021) was an American professional football player who was a guard in the National Football League (NFL) for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Pittsburgh Steelers and the Detroit Lions. Tampa B ...

, Paul Gruber,

Aaron Gibson Aaron Gibson (born September 27, 1977) is a former American football offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for the Detroit Lions, Dallas Cowboys and Chicago Bears. He also was a member of the Austin Wranglers and Cleveland Gladi ...

Chris McIntosh Chris McIntosh (born February 20, 1977) is an American college athletics administrator, businessman, and former professional American football player who is the current athletic director at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. After a standout c ...

, Joe Thomas, and

Gabe Carimi Gabriel Andrew Carimi ( ; born June 13, 1988) is a former American football guard. Carimi had 49 starts at left tackle in his four-year Wisconsin Badgers college career, which culminated at the 2011 Rose Bowl. He was awarded the 2010 Outland Tr ...

Cincinnati Bengals

In his rookie season, Zeitler started all 16 games at right guard for the Bengals. He gave up only four sacks all season, and graded highest among Bengals linemen. In his five seasons with the Bengals, Zeitler started 71 of 72 games played at right guard.

Cleveland Browns

On March 9, 2017, Zeitler signed a five-year, $60 million contract with the

, making him the highest paid guard in the NFL.

New York Giants

On March 13, 2019, the Browns traded Zeitler and

Jabrill Peppers Jabrill Ahmad Peppers (born October 4, 1995) is an American football strong safety for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Michigan, and was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the first ro ...

to the

, along with their first and third-round (originally acquired from the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

) picks in the

2019 NFL Draft The 2019 NFL Draft was the 84th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2019 NFL season. The draft was held on April 25–27 in Nashville, Tennessee. The first round was held on April 2 ...

, in exchange for

Odell Beckham Jr. Odell Cornelious Beckham Jr. (born November 5, 1992), commonly known by his initials OBJ, is an American football wide receiver who is a free agent. Born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Beckham played college football at LSU and was drafted by the ...

and

Olivier Vernon Olivier Alexander Vernon (born October 7, 1990) is an American football defensive end and outside linebacker who is a free agent. He was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft and has also played for the New Yor ...

. On March 10, 2021, the Giants released Zeitler.

Baltimore Ravens

Zeitler signed a three-year $22.5 million contract with the

on March 18, 2021. He had the most fan votes among

American Football Conference The American Football Conference (AFC) is one of the two conferences of the National Football League (NFL), the highest professional level of American football in the United States. The AFC and its counterpart, the National Football Conference ...

guards but was not named to the

2023 Pro Bowl The 2023 Pro Bowl Games will be the National Football League's all-star game for the 2022 NFL season. For the first time, the event will consist of skills competitions and a non-contact flag football game, rather than holding an actual tackle footb ...

AFC roster.Brown, Clifton. "Kevin Zeitler Snubbed From Pro Bowl Again," BaltimoreRavens.com, Wednesday, December 21, 2022.
Retrieved December 22, 2022.

NFL career statistics

References

External links

New York Giants bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zeitler, Kevin 1990 births Living people Sportspeople from Waukesha, Wisconsin Players of American football from Wisconsin Wisconsin Badgers football players All-American college football players American football offensive guards Cincinnati Bengals players Cleveland Browns players New York Giants players Baltimore Ravens players Ed Block Courage Award recipients