The countdown to the Bucs’ 2026 season is on. Right now, we’re:

56 days away from Bucs regular season kickoff
26 days away from Bucs preseason kickoff
10 days away from Bucs training camp

In the lead-up to training camp, Pewter Report’s Bailey Adams will be diving into storylines for 26 key figures who will be crucial to the Bucs’ success in 2026.

Today, the series continues with inside linebacker Alex Anzalone.

26 For ‘26: Alex Anzalone Bucs Storylines In 2026

Following Lavonte David’s Retirement, Alex Anzalone Has Big Shoes To Fill

From 2012-2025, there was one constant for the Bucs defense. That was Lavonte David patrolling the middle of the field at the linebacker position. In 2026, that changes. David retired after an illustrious 14-year career, one that will land him in the Bucs Ring of Honor as soon as ownership decides it wants to schedule the ceremony. And after that position became vacant for the first time since 2011, it was Anzalone who Tampa Bay brought in to fill it.

Tampa Bay inked Anzalone to a two-year, $17 million contract back in March, replacing one veteran with another at the heart of Todd Bowles’ defense. Anzalone is entering Year 10 in the NFL and is set to turn 32 years old just after his new team’s home opener in Week 2 this September. So, this is a guy who has played plenty of football and should certainly be up to the challenge and pressure that comes with stepping into a vacancy left by a franchise icon.

Bucs ILB Alex Anzalone – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Anzalone isn’t just filling a spot previously occupied by the franchise’s all-time joint tackle leader, its all-time forced fumble and fumble recovery leader and a guy who finished his career No. 3 in games played, No. 4 in passes defensed and No. 6 in sacks. It’s more than just production that the 31-year-old veteran is replacing. It’s also the presence.

David was a longtime captain not just for the Buccaneer defense but for the team as a whole. The longest-tenured Buc for a chunk of his career in Tampa Bay, he was one of the key figures in the locker room, even if he was a quieter, lead-by-example type of guy.

The good news for the Bucs is that if you were to pick and choose certain characteristics to include as you build a guy you’re counting on to replace a legend like Lavonte David, Alex Anzalone is essentially that guy. He’s well suited for it. After four years in New Orleans to start his career, the veteran linebacker really took off as a key player for the Lions defense from 2021-2025. He had a lot of success in Detroit, plus his familiarity with the state of Florida gave him a pretty important head start when it comes to some of the intangibles that come with playing for Tampa Bay.

Anzalone played his college football in Gainesville at the University of Florida, has family ties to Tampa and has spent every offseason of his career in the city. So, he’s plenty familiar with the area, and what’s especially important is that he’s familiar with the climate. Playing in the Florida heat is nothing new to him, and when you pair that built-in readiness with the kind of player and leader he’s been for the Lions over the last five seasons, this feels less like Anzalone being faced with a giant task of filling David’s shoes and more like him taking the baton from him and running with it.

Will Alex Anzalone Actually Be An Upgrade For The Bucs Defense?

With the utmost respect to Lavonte David and the 14-year career he had with the Bucs, there’s no denying that his play began to drop off rapidly the last two years and especially so in 2025. Those were his age-34 and age-35 seasons, so it was a natural decline that is typically expected in the NFL, especially when it comes to the inside linebacker position. Being a half-step to a step slower as an inside linebacker can make a big difference, and after David defied Father Time for years, that run finally came to a natural end.

All of that background is given to ensure that this next point isn’t to be taken as pointed criticism of David or an indictment on him. It’s just the nature of the game and particularly the position. With that said, there’s a case to be made that Alex Anzalone should be an upgrade for the Bucs defense in 2026. While you’re still taking a prime David over Anzalone, you have to love the fact that the Bucs went out and found such a high-caliber replacement for David this offseason, one who certainly should elevate the inside linebacker room above the level it’s been at for the last couple of years.

Bucs ILB Alex Anzalone – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The biggest area of concern for the Bucs’ inside linebackers in the last couple of years was in pass coverage. As good as David was in coverage in his prime, that part of his game fell off the hardest in his final seasons. He earned a 56.9 coverage grade in 2024 per Pro Football Focus, then dropped to a 45.1 last year. Even worse? K.J. Britt earned a 40.9 in 2024 from the other linebacker spot, then SirVocea Dennis played to a 30.5 grade last year. Opposing offenses killed Tampa Bay on screens, flares to the flat and wheel routes down the sidelines, taking advantage of one of the defense’s biggest weaknesses.

Anzalone is a big reason why things could change in that department for Todd Bowles’ defense this year. He has earned PFF coverage grades above 65 in each of the last three years. There were some duds for him during in 2025 (a 49.9 against Kansas City, a 44.8 against New York and a 40.7 against Green Bay), but he also had some elite performances to balance them out (77.6 against Cincinnati, 88.8 against Washington and a 76 grade against Minnesota). He’ll be 32 in 2026, so he may not replicate the 72.1 grade he posted in 2024. But Anzalone should still be an upgrade over the 30s and 40s the Bucs got used to these last couple of years.

It’s not just the pass coverage where Anzalone could provide an upgrade for Tampa Bay. He’s seen and done a lot in the NFL, which helps him process so quickly and react accordingly. And when it comes to the physical aspect of the game beyond reading and reacting, he still has plenty in his legs and can still provide plenty of thump when it comes time to bare down and tackle the ball carrier. He has only seven missed tackles in each of the last two seasons, whereas David had 19 last year alone and 41 between the last two seasons. Britt missed 13 in 2024 and Dennis missed 14 last year.

Bucs ILB Alex Anzalone – Photo by: Cliff Welch P/R

There are so many little instances you could pick out in recent years where you could say that if the Bucs got just a little bit more from their inside linebackers, something could’ve gone differently. That’s where Anzalone can come in and be a difference maker. Doing the little things can make for a big upgrade, and that’s what the Bucs seem to be getting in their new No. 34.

What Can Alex Anzalone Do With More Opportunities To Get After The Quarterback?

Ever since Alex Anzalone signed with the Bucs, everyone has been quick to point to his veteran leadership, ability to communicate and, of course, his pass coverage prowess. It’s especially that last point that gets a lot of the attention, and why shouldn’t it? Tampa Bay’s inside linebackers have flat-out stunk in coverage these last few years, and the addition of Anzalone should mean a drastic improvement in that area of the game this year.

As much as everyone else has been talking about what he can do when dropping into coverage, do you know what the veteran linebacker seemed most excited to talk about last month regarding his role in Todd Bowles’ defense? How much he’ll get to rush the passer, the free runs he’ll have at the quarterback and the chances he’ll have to make splash plays.

It’s not as if Anzalone hasn’t had opportunities to get after the quarterback in New Orleans and Detroit throughout his career. It’s just that this is Bowles we’re talking about. He loves to bring different kinds of blitzes and create pressure on the quarterback, and that’s something that excites the new veteran in the middle of that defense. Even accounting for the fact that rookie Josiah Trotter will play the other linebacker spot and potentially get more chances to blitz given how that part of his game is ahead of his ability to drop into coverage, Anzalone will still have his runs at the quarterback.

Bucs ILB Alex Anzalone – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Just looking at past trends for inside linebackers under Bowles in Tampa Bay, there should be no question that Anzalone will blitz more than he ever has before now that he’s wearing red, white and pewter. Over the seven seasons in his career in which he has totaled over 200 snaps, he has averaged 76.1 pass rush snaps per year. Compare that to David, whose role he’ll be stepping into? In seven seasons under Bowles, David averaged 94.6 pass rush snaps per season. And that’s even with the years he played alongside Devin White, who Bowles frequently sent on blitzes.

In 2021 and 2022 specifically, White had 182 and 153 pass rush snaps, respectively. In those two seasons, David had 67 and 57. Even with those lower numbers, his average under Bowles is bordering on 95 pass rush snaps per season. He had 148 in 2024 (when K.J. Britt had 54) and 95 last year (when SirVocea Dennis had 81).

How Bowles chooses to deploy Anzalone and Trotter could differ from past trends, as they’re obviously different players. But there will still be opportunities for Anzalone to rack up some big numbers. His career-high sack total is just 3.0, and that came in 2023. It’s not hard to see him setting a new career high – maybe even with flying colors – in 2026.

Catch Up On Previous Installments Of Bailey Adams’ 26 For ’26 Series

OFFENSE:

Baker Mayfield
Bucky Irving
Kenny Gainwell
Chris Godwin Jr.
Emeka Egbuka
Jalen McMillan
Cade Otton
Tristan Wirfs
Ben Bredeson
Graham Barton
Cody Mauch
Luke Goedeke

DEFENSE:

Yaya Diaby
Rueben Bain Jr.
A’Shawn Robinson
Calijah Kancey
Vita Vea