Former Eagles, Patriots, Colts Linebacker Steve Zabel Dies at 78

Steve Zabel, whose ferocity as a rookie tight end led the Philadelphia Eagles to convert him to linebacker, died. He was 78.

Zabel spent 10 years in the NFL with the Eagles (1970-74), New England Patriots (1975-78) and Baltimore Colts (1979). Although his outstanding tight end play in college led him to be a first-round pick in the 1970 NFL Draft, Zabel spent his last nine seasons at linebacker.

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A native of Minnesota, Zabel was a three-sport star in high school. He began his college football career on defense, but put his name on the national radar as an All-American tight end at the University of Oklahoma in 1969. He played three seasons for the Sooners (1967-69) and helped them win two Big Eight titles.

The Eagles selected Zabel with the sixth pick in the 1970 draft and let him start eight games as a rookie. However, his temperament was not that of a tight end - something the team quickly discovered.

“As a rookie tight end, I’d gotten kicked out of three games for fighting,” Zabel told the Eagles’ website in 2021. “And at the end of the year, they told me they didn’t think I had the proper temperament to be successful on offense and wanted to move me to outside linebacker. I jumped at the opportunity.”

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The Eagles shifted Zabel between the left and middle linebacker positions. He played for three head coaches in five seasons in Philadelphia. In 1975, the New England Patriots acquired Zabel, reuniting him with former Sooners head coach Chuck Fairbanks.

In his first season with the Pats, Zabel was credited with 72 tackles, three sacks and a fumble recovery. His second season was perhaps his best ever; he led all New England linebackers with 88 tackles and was named the Pats’ most valuable defensive player.

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Later, Zabel was selected to the Patriots’ all-decade team for the 1970s.

In 2010, Zabel told a publication in his hometown of Edmond, Oklahoma that he was inspired to retire after seeing teammate Darryl Stingly paralyzed by a play on the field. Zabel eventually founded a nonprofit in his adopted hometown.

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Zabel was inducted into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame in 2015.

According to KOCO, Zabel is survived by his wife, three children, several grandchildren and a great-grandchild.

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This story was originally published June 25, 2026 at 1:02 AM.