Who Won The Kevin Zeitler, Olivier Vernon Trade?

Zeitler was released by the Giants in a salary cap move this week.

Olivier Vernon hits free agency after playing out his renegotiated contract for Cleveland.

Neither player is likely to return to his former team.

Vernon suffered a late-season knee injury and Zeitler said his good-byes to New York.

As both players move on, it’s time to debate who won the Olivier Vernon-Kevin Zeitler trade?

It Was Billed As A Win-Win Deal 

Back in March of 2019, Cleveland was flush with cap space and determined to add an edge rusher.

New York was desperate to straighten out their offensive line woes.

And Olivier Vernon was tying up a lot of cap room in a defense that didn’t make good use of him.

Cleveland agreed to take on Vernon’s $15.5 million dollar contract, hoping he would thrive opposite Myles Garrett.

New York landed a top-notch guard to anchor their reworked offensive line.

But any savings realized by Zeitler’s $10 million salary was offset by an $8 million dead cap hit from Vernon.

Zeitler was a vital cog in the interior of Cleveland’s line along with JC Tretter and Joel Bitonio.

The trio helped the Browns rank as the fourth-best pass-blocking unit in the NFL despite issues at both tackles.

But GM John Dorsey thought Austin Corbett would slide right in at Zeitler’s right guard spot.

The loss of Vernon left a hole in the Giant’s defensive line the Giants hoped to fill via the draft or free agency.

After One Year, It Was Advantage: Giants 

New York shifted from a 4-3 defense to a 3-4 in 2019, making the loss of Vernon tricky to gauge.

The defensive line was the strongest unit on a mediocre defense, aided by the midseason acquisition of Leonard Williams.

But the free-agent signing of linebacker Markus Golden was supposed to boost the pass rush.

All Golden did was rack up 10 sacks, the most by a Giants linebacker since Lawrence Taylor.

Back in Cleveland, Olivier Vernon played just 10 games due to injury, with 3.5 sacks and a career-low tackle total.

If that wasn’t bad enough, while Zeitler played to his usual level in New York, Austin Corbett struggled.

Things were bad enough that Dorsey jettisoned Corbett to the Los Angeles Rams for a 2021 5th round pick.

Wyatt Teller stepped in and held his own, but did not stand out in Freddie Kitchens’ offense.

The Pendulum Swung Back to Cleveland in 2020

Kevin Zeitler was easily the best and most consistent member of the Giants’ 2020 offensive line.

But the line ranked 32nd overall in the NFL, so the Giants did not get much for their investment.

In Vernon’s old spot, Markus Golden was unhappy with the lowball contract he was forced to sign in a rarely used personnel maneuver.

Golden did not record a sack until Week 7, and the next day he was traded to Arizona.

But in Cleveland, Wyatt Teller blossomed into the top-ranked offensive lineman in the league.

Andrew Berry and the Browns added pieces that helped Teller lead the line to an overall top PFF unit-ranking.

Olivier Vernon reworked his contract to help the team and then surprised many with a rebound season.

He especially stepped up when Myles Garrett missed games with the Covid virus.

Vernon and Teller played vital roles in the Browns’ first playoff season since 2002.

Zeitler was forced out as a salary cap casualty after New York’s 6-10 season.

And that means the Cleveland Browns win the Kevin Zeitler for Olivier Vernon part of the trade hands-down.