Seahawks shift Grey Zabel to starting right guard after acquiring Quenton Nelson

The Story

The Seattle Seahawks acquired All-Pro guard Quenton Nelson from the Indianapolis Colts in a trade on Tuesday, and the team says the addition will move Grey Zabel to the starting right guard spot.

Head coach Mike Macdonald said the Seahawks were “really excited to have the opportunity to acquire Quenton Nelson,” adding that the move follows Seattle’s best offensive-line performance of the season in Sunday night’s game.

The Seahawks plan for Nelson to play left guard, which opens Zabel’s path to the right side after beginning the season at left guard.

Nelson is in his ninth season and has been named first-team All-Pro in each of his first three seasons, with second-team All-Pro honours in three additional seasons. He has also been selected to the Pro Bowl every season of his career, joining Hall of Famer Joe Thomas as the only two offensive linemen in NFL history to make the Pro Bowl in each of their first eight seasons.

Zabel, who previously played multiple positions at North Dakota State University, said he feels “a lot of emotions” about switching to right guard. He told the Seahawks he intends to approach the change as an opportunity to learn, saying: “At the end of the day, I'll do whatever's best for the team.”

Zabel added that studying Nelson’s play has been part of his preparation, saying there was “a lot of film study done in the past year and a half” watching Nelson. He described Nelson as “an unbelievable player,” adding, “His run blocking is unmatched. He's an unbelievable pass blocker as well too.”

Macdonald said Seattle considered Zabel’s experience at right guard when deciding to shift him there, and noted that the transition still includes “a process.” He added that the Seahawks will also be focused on developing on-field chemistry after moving from the left side to the right side with Nelson.

Zabel said another key factor is pairing and timing, telling the Seahawks: “That's another thing that you look at is trying to mesh and vibe as well as you can with Abe.” He described Abe as an “unbelievable tackle” and said he will be “fortunate” to move from one elite tackle to another as Seattle looks to “mesh and gel as fast as we can” when the Seahawks take the field on Monday.

With Zabel moving to the starting right guard role, Anthony Bradford will serve as the primary backup for both guard spots going forward, according to the team.