Anthony Joseph Zettel (born August 9, 1992) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with ca ...

. He was selected by the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

in the sixth round of the

2016 NFL draft The 2016 NFL draft was the 81st annual draft of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft beg ...

Early life

Zettel attended Ogemaw Heights High School in West Branch, Michigan, where he was a first-team all-state selection as a senior. He recorded 82 solo

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position) A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent ...

, 25 assisted tackles and dropped the

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

in the backfield seven times as a senior. Zettel also lettered in

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

and

track & field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and ...

at Ogemaw Heights. As a senior in track, he set the Michigan high school state record in the

shot put The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical Ball (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...

with a toss of , earning his second straight state championship and breaking both the school record (60'9") and the Division II state record (58'8"). That same year, he finished second in the discus with a heave of . He also participated in sprints, running the

100-meter dash The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...

in 11.55 seconds and helping Ogemaw's 400m sprint relay post a season-low 45.95 in 2010. Zettel was rated as a four-star recruit and was listed as the nation's No. 6 prep

by Rivals.com.

College career

Zettel played inside and outside during a 2014 first-team All-Big Ten Conference season at

and recorded 17

tackles for loss The following terms are used in American football, both conventional and indoor. Some of these terms are also in use in Canadian football; for a list of terms unique to that code, see '' Glossary of Canadian football''. 0–9 ...

, eight sacks, and three interceptions. He was moved inside in 2015 and his production dipped a bit with 47 tackles, 11 for loss, four sacks and six pass breakups.

Professional career

Detroit Lions

Zettel was selected in the sixth round (202nd overall) by the

in the

. He recorded his first career sack against

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

quarterback

Eli Manning Elisha Nelson Manning (born January 3, 1981) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons with the New York Giants. A member of the Manning family, he is the youngest ...

in Week 15 of the

2016 NFL season The 2016 NFL season was the 97th season in the history of the National Football League (NFL) and the 51st of the Super Bowl era. The season began on September 8, 2016, with the defending Super Bowl 50 champion 2016 Denver Broncos season, Denve ...

. On September 5, 2018, Zettel was waived by the Lions.

Cleveland Browns

On September 6, 2018, Zettel was claimed off waivers by the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

. He was released during final roster cuts on August 31, 2019.

Cincinnati Bengals

On October 17, 2019, Zettel was signed by the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

. He was waived on October 21, but re-signed on October 23. He was waived on December 17, 2019.

San Francisco 49ers (first stint)

On December 23, 2019, the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

signed Zettel. Zettel reached

Super Bowl LIV Super Bowl LIV was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2019 NFL season, 2019 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion 2019 Kansas City Chiefs season, Kansas City ...

with the 49ers, but the team was defeated by the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

Minnesota Vikings

On March 25, 2020, Zettel signed with the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

. He was released on September 2, 2020.

New Orleans Saints

On September 19, 2020, Zettel was signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

of the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

practice squad. He was elevated to the active roster on December 5 for the team's week 13 game against the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

, and reverted to the practice squad after the game. He was released on January 11, 2021, but re-signed with the practice squad on January 13. Zettel was released again on January 16.

San Francisco 49ers (second stint)

On July 27, 2021, Zettel signed with the 49ers. On August 6, 2021, Zettel announced his retirement from professional football.

References

External links

Penn State Nittany Lions bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zettel, Anthony 1992 births Living people Players of American football from Michigan People from West Branch, Michigan American football defensive tackles Penn State Nittany Lions football players Detroit Lions players Cleveland Browns players Cincinnati Bengals players San Francisco 49ers players Minnesota Vikings players New Orleans Saints players