Uncomfortable being comfortable: How Lions' Kyle Peko navigated hardship and found unusual stability in ninth season

Allen Park — Only twice during his nine-year career has Kyle Peko not played in the preseason. In 2017, his second season after going undrafted out of Oregon State, he was sidelined by a broken foot. And in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out the league’s exhibition slate entirely.

So when Peko found out the Detroit Lions wouldn’t be dressing him for the preseason opener earlier this month, he panicked.

“I'm thinking, 'Why am I not playing? What in the hell is going on?'

What’s going on — probably for the first time in his career — is there’s no lingering doubts about his roster status heading into cutdown day. It’s something that should bring peace of mind to Peko, but he’s a man uncomfortable with being comfortable.

“I don't think I've ever made an assumption and being out during the preseason has been kind of crazy. It’s different for me,” Peko said. “I've always played in the preseason games. I'm taking this for what it is. I don't know anything yet, not until (the season opener on) September 8th.”

That’s a reasonable viewpoint for someone who has had to scrap every step of the way during his career. Peko’s story is one of perseverance and persistence. Detroit is his eighth stint with six different teams.

Between demotions and promotions to and from practice squads at those stops, he’s lost track of how many contracts he signed. We took the liberty of counting them up for him.

Since signing with Denver as an undrafted free agent in May, 2016, the one-year pact he signed with the Lions this offseason was the 18th of his career.

Football is difficult enough, physically and mentally. It’s worse when you add the emotional toll of not having stability. He hasn’t spent more than two consecutive years in one place since going pro.

But in 2019, Peko's perspective on his challenging lifestyle changed when his wife, Giuliana, was diagnosed with stage three Hodgkin's lymphoma. The couple had just welcomed their second child into the world weeks earlier, adding to the chaotic and emotional hurricane.

Peko’s first reaction was to give up the football career he had been fighting so hard to keep afloat, year after year. Giuliana wouldn’t hear it. “My wife was all in for me going back (to camp), kick ass and make the team. And she was going to stick to her plan.”

In the end, both completed their assignments. Peko stuck in Buffalo that season, while Giuliana’s scans showed no signs of cancer six treatments into her scheduled 12 cycles of chemotherapy.

Teammates in Buffalo awarded Peko the franchise’s Ed Block Courage award after the season. But they told him the honor wasn’t for him as much as it was for Giuliana.

This September will mark five years cancer-free, which doctors consider the benchmark for permanent remission. The way Giuliana took her fight head-on remains a lingering inspiration for Peko.

“Her perseverance and how she handled it, having a plan, sticking with the plan, doing anything extra she could to help with the process,” Peko said. “Ultimately, it was a success and she beat cancer. I learned a lot from her during that time. 

“I get to play football,” Peko said. “It's difficult, it's physically taxing, but nothing compared to what she went through.”

This year, Peko will get to play football in Detroit. His signing this May barely moved the needle, but he’s quickly climbed the depth chart and he’s been working with the starting defense the past couple of weeks, filling a hole that will eventually be filled by DJ Reader, once he’s medically cleared from his torn quad.

But Peko isn’t just a body. Aided by his previous experience playing under Detroit’s new defensive line coach Terrell Williams, and welcomed with open arms by his new teammates, Peko is flourishing in his new surroundings.

Lions linebacker Alex Anzalone recently said there are practices he feels he’s been untouched by an offensive lineman because Peko does such a good job absorbing multiple blockers. But while the thankless job of eating space is the nose tackle's primary responsibility in Detroit's defensive scheme, Peko showed during Wednesday's full-contact scrimmage he’s more than capable of being disruptive when given the chance, regularly penetrating the offensive line to make multiple plays in the backfield.

Peko isn’t expected to be in uniform for Saturday’s preseason finale against the Pittsburgh Steelers, capping what’s become a surreal offseason for the veteran defender. His formal introduction to Lions fans will come next month, potentially in a starting role, when the team opens the regular season at home against the Rams.

There will undoubtedly be fans in the stands who haven’t paid attention to that point, only hopping on the bandwagon for the official start toward a hopeful Super Bowl run. There’s a good chance they’ll say, ‘Who?’ when Peko is introduced or after he chips in on his first tackle.

They might never realize what Peko has been through to get to that moment. But his story and his experiences will fuel him that night and every time he laces the cleats and straps on the pads the rest of his career.