Alex Anzalone
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Alex Anzalone celebrates a Lions defensive play in Minnesota in 2021.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers ended up taking a beating during this year’s free agency cycle for letting legendary wide receiver Mike Evans walk out the door and sign with the San Francisco 49ers.
What the Buccaneers haven’t received is much positive encouragement despite making their offense better by bringing back starting tight end Cade Otton on a relatively modest 3-year, $30 million contract, along with getting a high-impact running back to pair with Bucky Irving by signing Kenneth Gainwell to a 2-year, $14 million contract.
That doesn’t even mention what’s being called the very best move the Buccaneers made in free agency, where they received a rare, A+ grade from The Athletic’s Daniel Popper for signing inside linebacker Alex Anzalone to a 2-year, $17 million contract.
“Longtime Bucs off-ball linebacker Lavonte David is a free agent, and he clearly took a step back last season,” Popper wrote on Wednesday. “David turned 36 in January. The Bucs get younger at the position by bringing on Anzalone, who is a superior athlete as he enters his age-32 campaign. Anzalone is fast, flexible, and fluid. He is slippery when evading blockers, especially as a blitzer … Anzalone is also a versatile coverage player. The one knock on his game is a slight lack of physicality as a run defender. But this is an excellent value deal for the Bucs at a position of need.”
Bucs Had Built-In Advantage With Alex Anzalone
The Buccaneers ended up getting a hometown discount from Anzalone they probably didn’t expect because he actually lives in the Tampa area.
“Confirming Bucs have agreed to a contract with Lions FA LB Alex Anzalone,” Tampa Bay Times NFL reporter Rick Stroud wrote on his official X account on Monday. “He lives in Tampa.”
“TheBuccaneers have agreed to terms with LB Alex Anzalone on a two-year, $17 million deal,” NFL Network’s Mike Garofolo wrote on his official X account. “Thor heads to Tampa …He turned down more money elsewhere to join the Bucs.”
Buccaneers Uncertain on Future of Lavonte David
The Buccaneers could end up needing Anzalone a lot more than they even imagined when they signed him, depending on what happens with veteran linebacker Lavonte David.
“Lavonte David will make a decision in the coming days and it will be either a return to the Bucs or retirement,” ESPN’s Jenna Laine wrote on Tuesday. “Either way, they needed two inside linebackers, as SirVocea Dennis wasn’t the answer last season. Anzalone, signing on a two-year deal, brings elite coverage skills — which is something they’ve lacked — and he’s well-respected in the locker room, which is why he was voted a team captain five years in a row. Also, he’s capable of wearing the green dot sticker, where he’d be quarterbacking the defense.”
Anzalone, 31 years old, had 95 tackles, 9 pass deflections, 2.5 sacks, 8 QB hits, and 1 interception in 2025.
From Fox Sports’ pre-free agency rankings: “Anzalone, 31, has had a productive five-year run in the middle of Detroit’s defense, averaging 14 starts and 98 tackles per year. He’s done it inexpensively, making $6 million a year on his last deal. Could his time with the Lions be up? Seems he could land with Aaron Glenn and the Jets if that is the case — Glenn was with him for four of those years in Detroit and arguably his best.”