Veteran right guard Kevin Zeitler hasn't played a snap at right guard for the Green Bay Packers since signing in late September, but coach Matt LaFleur doesn't think the 36-year-old has hit the proverbial "wall" of his NFL career.
Instead, LaFleur sees a player who missed a lot of time and is improving each week he's in Green Bay.
"No, I don't think so. It's like anybody, he hadn't played football for a long time, he came in and he's shown improvement every week. Certainly, I don't think he's hit the wall at all," LaFleur said.
The wall arrives for every player at some point, and it's possible Zeitler hasn't looked good enough in practice during his first month in Green Bay. He was inactive in Week 7 and hasn't been on the field for the offensive
line despite several injury issues at guard.
But it's also possible Zeitler needed a month or more to get his body and mind ready to play in a regular season game.
Zeitler, who has played in over 200 NFL games, injured his leg in January's regular season finale with the Tennessee Titans, had offseason surgery to repair the injury and didn't participate in a training camp. He signed with the Packers on Sept. 30 and has been ramping up since, getting in shape and learning the playbook while competing with several veterans for snaps at right guard.
LaFleur didn't rule out Zeitler being the starter at right guard against the New England Patriots on Sunday, but he also disagreed with the opinion that the play at right guard against the Panthers wasn't good enough.
On Tomlinson, who moved from left guard to right guard: "I thought Laken went out there and did a pretty good job."
On Aaron Banks, who returned after missing multiple weeks with toe and knee injuries: "He's missed a lot of time. There were some plays that he looked really good and there were some plays that weren't so great. That's part of it, getting back into football."
LaFleur has said that Tomlinson earned the right to stay in the starting lineup, and the Packers clearly prefer Banks as the starter at left guard.
The Packers also have Mekhi Becton, who started at right guard for the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles during the 2024 season, as another starting option. It's unclear if Travis Glover, who missed Week 8 with a knee injury, will be healthy enough to compete to play in Week 9.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Packers don't think veteran G Kevin Zeitler has hit the wall of NFL career
