Anzalone
March 22nd, 2026
Needed juice.
Joe likes how the Bucs got a quality starting linebacker in free agency.
When Joe learned the Bucs signed Alex Anzalone, Joe loved it because Joe knew Anzalone brought fire to the football field. Man, if there was one thing the soft Bucs defense needed aside from an edge rusher was some juice.
Anzalone brings all the juice one could find from an orange grove.
Maybe as a result of this (and more), Daniel Popper of The Athletic, not to be confused with John Popper, gave the Bucs an A+ grade for signing Anzalone.
Top 150 ranking: 47
Reported deal: 2 years, $17 million
Grade: A+
Longtime Bucs off-ball linebacker Lavonte David is a free agent, and he clearly took a step back last season. 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. His 29 percent pressure rate ranked second among linebackers, according to TruMedia. 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.
The way Joe looks at it, if Lavonte David returns, he starts. Maybe try to limit his snaps so he is sort of fresh in December. But David starts, period.
If you want to put David in a rotation with a rookie linebacker, Joe’s OK with that as well. The less SirVocea Dennis sees the field the better.