Zinter reunited with foe as a Browns teammate
They shared a history as fierce competitors in college, hating each other inside a rivalry as bitter as it gets.
A singular, unlucky moment on the field in another Ohio State-Michigan clash in November connected Michael Hall Jr. and Zak Zinter, who have been brought together again by another twist of fate.
Buckeye. Wolverine. Browns. “We were enemies in college,” said Zinter, a North Andover native. “Now we’re brothers and teammates.”
This NFL Draft for Cleveland will be most remembered for two things: It’s the last impacted by the Deshaun Watson trade in 2020, and the Browns used their top two selections on Hall and Zinter, whose paths converged on Nov. 25.
While engaged and blocking another Ohio State lineman, Zinter had the tibia and fibula broken in his left leg when Hall accidently fell onto him in the second half of Michigan’s 30-24 victory at Ann Arbor.
On Friday, the Browns drafted them to be part of their future.
“It’s crazy,” Hall said.
Ohio State and Michigan. United in Cleveland.
“We’re building bridges,” joked Dan Saganey, the team’s director of player personnel.
His broken bones healed, Zinter, an All-American guard for the Wolverines, spent part of Saturday reflecting on the play that ended his college career in a national championship season and put his football future in jeopardy.
When it happened, there were so many unknowns.
As he laid on the field, nothing was the same for Zinter, a former All-Scholastic at Buckingham, Browne & Nichols.
“When the doctors came out, my leg was kind of sideways, so they straightened it out and I could feel all the bones in there crinkling and touching,” he said matter-of-factly. “It wasn’t the best experience, but we got through it.”
Hall’s memories of that play are more poignant.
“We even prayed for him after when that happened,” said Hall, who grew up in Cleveland and dreamed of playing for the Browns. “It was just real tragic to see that. He’s a hell of a player and he’s my teammate now. My brother.”
Zinter never blamed Hall for his injury, knowing it could have happened on any snap in any game.
Whatever bad blood exited between Hall and Zinter is behind them, and the sight of the new rookies sitting shoulder to shoulder on the dais was stunning given their heated battles in college.
They were all smiles as their families watched them take their next step as pros.
That’s not say there may not be a few more intense practices ahead.
“Did you guys challenge them to a steel cage death match?” Saganey cracked. “Both those guys obviously are super competitive players and played some pretty good football at a high level. So that’ll be fun to watch that battle.”
Jets trade D-lineman
The Jets traded defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers to the Broncos for a sixth-round pick in the 2026 draft.
Franklin-Myers, whose base salary was $13.3 million, was due to count about $16.4 million on the salary cap. Instead, New York cleared $7.3 million in cap space by dealing him.
Franklin-Myers had 3½ sacks last season and 17½ in four seasons with the Jets.
It was also one of four deals general manager Joe Douglas made Saturday when trading down three times in the fourth round before taking Wisconsin running back Braelon Allen with the 134th overall pick.
Franklin-Myers became expendable on the Jets’ defensive line — generally considered the team’s best position group — after New York acquired edge rusher Haason Reddick from Philadelphia on April 1.
Later Saturday, Douglas made Qwan’tez Stiggers part of NFL Draft history.
Coming off a successful stint in the CFL where the cornerback was selected the league’s most outstanding rookie, Stiggers was taken in the fifth round with the 176th pick. He’s believed to be the first CFL player drafted by an NFL team without any college playing experience.
He quickly became a starter with the Toronto Argonauts and had five interceptions on his way to being selected as a CFL East All-Star — and earning an invitation to play in the EastWest Shrine Bowl.
Big draw for Detroit
The draft has a new attendance record after more than 700,000 fans flooded downtown Detroit for the three-day event.
Motown beat Nashville’s threeday attendance record of 600,000 set in 2019. The event was expected to be seen by 50plus million viewers. The NFL did not charge fans to attend the event in Detroit, though the visitors and area residents were expected to generate more than $160 million in economic impact at sold-out hotels, packed bars and restaurants, as well as downtown retail stores . . . The Chiefs plan to explore options that include leaving Arrowhead Stadium after voters in Jackson County, Mo., soundly rejected a sales tax initiative that would have helped to pay for renovations to the 52-year-old building. One of the team’s options could be just across the state line, where public officials in Kansas have made it clear that they would love to have the Chiefs on their side of the border.