Lions Gifted Chance to Sign Experienced Veteran Just Before Draft

The Detroit Lions saw their offensive guard depth take a hit earlier this offseason as they lost veteran Kevin Zeitler to free agency. The 35-year-old lineman signed a one-year, $9.85 million deal with the Tennessee Titans.

Without Zeitler, the Lions are left with second-year lineman Christian Mahogany as the potential starter at right guard and Colby Sorsdal (2023 fifth-round pick) as the backup. Mahogany played in seven games and made one start last season.

Meanwhile, Sorsdal has appeared in 17 games (three starts) across his first two seasons in the NFL. 

Based on their current situation, the Lions might want to bring in a veteran to compete with the two young linemen. Luckily for Detroit, a veteran offensive lineman with 31 career appearances is available to be signed in free agency.

On Monday, Jonathan M Alexander of the Houston Chronicle reported that the Texans cut guard Tremayne Anchrum Jr. to make room for veteran tight end Irv Smith Jr.

Anchrum Jr. was recently signed to a futures/reserve deal earlier this year after the Texans were eliminated from the NFL playoffs.

The 26-year-old Anchrum spent part of the 2024 season with the Texans after the New Orleans Saints cut ahead of the 53-man roster deadline last August. Before latching on with the Saints, he initially signed with the Seattle Seahawks last year in free agency.

Anchrum was signed to Houston’s practice squad on November 4, 2024, and did not appear in any regular season or playoff games. The 6-foot-2, 314-pound lineman began his NFL career with the Los Angeles Rams, who took him in the seventh round of the 2020 NFL Draft.

Anchrum appeared in 12 games as a rookie in 2020 but predominantly played special teams. The former Day 3 pick missed his second year as he was placed on injured reserve. Anchrum appeared in two games in his third year (2022) but had another injured reserve stint.

However, in 2023, Anchrum appeared in 17 games with the Rams, but only saw 96 snaps on offense. Anchrum’s preseason grades from last summer weren’t great with the Saints, but it's something to work with.

According to Pro Football Focus, he had a 51.0 run blocking grade (147th among 182 eligible guards), but an 85.0 pass blocking grade (15th). In 99 offensive snaps, he didn’t allow a single sack and was only penalized once. 

If the Lions were to entertain the idea of signing Anchrum, their expectation wouldn’t be for him to start over Mahogany or Sorsdal. However, he could give them depth and another lineman on the taxi squad for the regular season.