Will the Detroit Lions regret not tradingfor former left guard Kevin Zeitler at this year's trade deadline?
Well, it all depends on how well their backups step up in coming weeks, which several key NFC games against the Washington Commanders, Philadelphia Eagles, and Green Bay Packers coming up for the Lions in November alone.
The current Tennessee Titan has been one of the teams' lone bright spots this season, and it always seemed far fetched that the Cam Ward-led squad would let a veteran like him get shipped back to Detroit. Still, FanSided's Chris Landers wrote that not landing Zeitler back in the fold could come back to bite the Lions this season.
"This Lions offense has been predicated on its running game for years now, but they simply don't have the horses to give Jahmyr Gibbs the space he needs. Holmes has never been one to make a panic move, but why not at least look for a stopgap to raise the floor a bit? Titans veteran Kevin Zeitler felt like a painfully obvious fit, and I'm not sure why a deal failed to materialize."
Lions might regret not doing everything to get Zeitler back
Landers added in his piece that the exposing game against the Minnesota Vikings, in which the team held Jahmyr Gibbs to only 25 rushing yards on nine attempts, should've been the warning shot heard around the Lions' front office. Instead, they held firm, and are clearly planning on leaning on their depth pieces to get the job done moving forward this regular season.
They have some starting talent hidden on their bench, like Trystan Colon and Kayode Awosika, and they've signed some extra help by adding rookie guard Jack Conley to their practice squad ahead of Week 10 against the Commanders. But, a true veteran with solid pass protection and, most importantly, health, could've made a huge difference for Detroit's offense.
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Strong pass rushing and run stopping teams, like that of the Vikings and Commanders, are the perfect tests for the Lions as they have to begin mixing and matching their O-line amidst injury to Christian Mahogany. If their Week 10 game against Washington goes awry behind another weak performance from their line in protecting Jared Goff and Jahmyr Gibbs, expect the noise about the Lions' quiet trade deadline to reach a fever pitch.