A Munich-born offensive tackle who discovered football at 15 and has since bounced across five NFL organizations chasing a permanent roster spot.
Kilian Zierer's path to professional football started with soccer in Germany before he found American football through a U.S. visit as a teenager. He came up through International Player Pathway channels and junior college ball before starting at Auburn, and he has spent his pro career fighting for a foothold, most recently landing on Jacksonville's practice squad in 2025.
Path to the league
Zierer was born in Munich and picked up football at age 15 during a trip to the United States, later playing tight end and offensive line for club teams in Germany before Gridiron Imports, a nonprofit that helps international players reach American college football, connected him with College of the Canyons and then Auburn. He started all 12 games at left tackle as a senior for the Tigers in 2022 and went undrafted in 2023.
Career highlights
At College of the Canyons, Zierer earned all-conference honors at left tackle in both seasons and helped the team win consecutive national junior college titles. At Auburn, he played through a torn ACL suffered late in juco ball to become a full-season starter as a senior, and he was invited to the 2023 East-West Shrine Bowl. He was also selected in the CFL Global Draft by Edmonton.
2025 season recap
Zierer signed with the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent in 2023 and has since spent time with Atlanta, Cleveland and San Francisco's practice squad. He joined Jacksonville's practice squad on October 15, 2025, and signed a reserve/future contract with the Jaguars in January 2026, still working to earn a spot on the active roster.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Kilian Zierer
- ESPN: Kilian Zierer
Player Profile
Background
- Position
- Offensive Tackle
- Group
- offense
- College
- Auburn
- Hometown
- Munich, Germany
- Age
- 26
- Status
- active
