The Patriots’ interior offensive line is in rough shape, and that reality makes Cleveland guard Zak Zinter a name worth watching.
New England already had to patch things together by signing Greg Van Roten in mid-August after the group got too thin inside. Now Van Roten is their starting right guard with Mike Onwenu on season-ending injured reserve, and the situation only looks shakier from there. Even if Van Roten holds up after a full week of work with the first unit, the Patriots are still staring at a problem that could force a trade-deadline fix.
Ben Brown is the one reserve the Patriots feel they can really trust, and even that comes with caveats. He backs up center, and he has dealt with injuries of his own since camp opened. Brown’s preseason injury is what pushed New England to bring in Van Roten in the first place.
That leaves a familiar name and an obvious connection on the other side: the Browns.
Mike Vrabel spent the 2024 season around Cleveland as a coaching and personnel consultant, and most of that work centered on the Browns’ offensive linemen. That link is what makes Zinter such a natural fit in this conversation.
Zinter is Cleveland’s backup left guard right now, but his background says right guard. He played that spot throughout his career with the Michigan Wolverines, and the Browns took him in the third round of the 2024 draft. That made him a rookie while Vrabel was around the organization.
The problem for Zinter has been getting on the field. He never found much room to play across his first two-plus years, and his rookie season included a rough attempt to move to tackle.
By 2025, he had settled in behind Joel Bitonio. Cleveland had questions at right guard this summer, but Zinter stayed on the left side through camp, backing up free-agent addition Zion Johnson.
Still, he did enough to stick. Zinter turned in a solid preseason and earned a spot on Todd Monken’s roster. Pro Football Focus credited him with an 84.8 pass-blocking grade across his two preseason games, which ranked second on the Browns.
If the Patriots wanted to pry him loose, the cost might not be steep. One possible framework would have New England send over one of its three 2027 sixth-round picks. That would leave the Patriots with a full draft board, and it’s the kind of return Cleveland could reasonably take, especially considering Zinter entered camp on the roster bubble and might have been waived if he hadn’t impressed this summer.
Cleveland also has enough bodies up front to at least consider moving him. Tytus Howard, Elgton Jenkins, and Johnson are veteran starters who have each played multiple spots in their NFL careers.
KT Leveston, a practice squad lineman, saw first-team reps at right guard during camp before being overtaken by Teven Jenkins and rookie Austin Barber. Brown is a capable backup, and Caleb Lomu gives the Browns depth at tackle, but guard still looks like the spot where an addition makes the most sense.
NFL teams don’t usually hand young offensive linemen away in-season, but Vrabel’s Cleveland ties and Zinter’s strange path with the Browns make this one feel like a deal that could actually come together.
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