The 2026 NFL free agency period opens in under two weeks. The Bucs will be looking for defensive help this offseason to shore up a unit that underperformed consistently in 2025. The linebacker position is one that will draw considerable attention. The team only has two players at that position group under contract for 2026: SirVocea Dennis and Nick Jackson. The team could be (and should be) looking for two new starters, assuming Lavonte David has played his last snap (although that might not be the case).
I have been digging into the options the Bucs could be looking at for linebacker help this offseason via multiple avenues.
Draft: Sonny Styles, Owen Heinecke, Kyle Louis, Arvell Reese, Kaleb Elarms-Orr, Jacob Rodriguez, Justin Jefferson, C.J. Allen, Anthony Hill, Jr., Jake Golday, Keyshaun Elliott, Josiah Trotter
Free Agency: Devin Bush, Nakobe Dean
Bush and Dean are both near the top of the options available in free agency. But what if they go for more of a mid-market player? Alex Anzalone would fit that bill.
Alex Anzalone Scouting Report
Age: 31 (will turn 32 early in 2026 season)
Years pro: 9
Draft Status: former 3rd rounder
Career stats: 6,164 snaps, 634 tackles, 13.0% MTR, 551 pass rushes, 106 pressures, 19% pressure rate, 14 sacks, 3,382 coverage reps, 360 targets, 263 catches allowed, 2,476 yards allowed, 0.73 yds/cov rep, 96.3 passer rating allowed, 21 PBU’s, 3 FF
2025 stats: 1,003 snaps, 94 tackles, 6.9% MTR, 70 pass rushes, 18 pressures, 26% pressure rate, 3 sacks, 564 coverage reps, 61 targets, 40 catches allowed, 409 yards allowed, 0.73 yds/cov rep, 88.8 passer rating allowed, 4 PBU, 0 FF
LB Alex Anzalone – Photo by: IMAGN Images – Junfu Han
Injury History
- Right shoulder injuries, including a torn labrum in college (2013, 2015)
- Broken arm (2016)
- 2018 shoulder injury
- 2019 knee injury
- 2019 shoulder sprain
- 2021 ankle sprain
- 2023 hand
- 2024 fractured forearm
- 2024 fractured ribs
- 2025 hamstring
- 2025 concussion
Physical Measurements
Height: 6’3′
Weight: 241 pounds
Arm length: 32.125″
40-yard dash: 4.63 seconds
Vertical jump: 30.5″
Broad jump: 116″
3-Cone: 6.88 seconds
20-yard shuttle: 4.25 seconds
Summary/Role Projection For The Bucs
Anzalone is a smart and assignment-sound linebacker who profiles best as the chase-and-tackle weakside ‘backer in a defense that asks him to sift and find/attack from the second level. He isn’t going to add much mass or threaten as an extra man on the line, but in strategic spots, he can mug and attack or mug and drop to add variation to a defensive scheme.
He can also be trusted in short zones to position himself to make tackles and limit yards after catch, with the occasional play on the ball. In man coverage, he can cover up specific players but can’t hang with the league’s best athletes at tight end and running back.
This could work in a Todd Bowles Bucs defense, although he would be a more limited option than what Lavonte David had previously brought to the position.
Fitting The Run
Anzalone works best as a backside ‘backer flowing to the ball as opposed to a head-up middle linebacker who will have to bang in the middle. His best trait is that he’s light on his feet and can bounce around blockers. That’s how he survives in block deconstruction. He will rarely roll through a blocker or toss a guy.
His eyes are his biggest asset, as he can decipher ball carrier paths and move around would-be blockers. Even tight ends can erase him if they can latch – in part because he can allow his pad level to get too high at the point of contact which weakens him. This is why his agility is such an important part of his game.
Back to his ability to flow to the play – he is effortless in moving laterally as the run develops and he does a good job of sifting through traffic to get to the back. His ankle flexibility is a plus and helps him move laterally as plays stretch in multiple directions. He is assignment sound for the most part but will occasionally try to backdoor runs, which can lead to big gains for the offense through his assigned gap.
This is a good tackle by Alex Anzalone, but why run a toss on 3rd and 1, especially when there’s a tell by having both backs in the game pic.twitter.com/a5mG9CaQcG
— JP Acosta (@acosta32_jp) October 25, 2022
He is a technically sound tackler with a low missed tackle rate. He comes to balance well and rarely overruns the play, but he lacks pop or sting in his hits. He’s not going to deliver the big blow that fires up teammates or fans.
Coverage
The Lions have trusted him on third downs to stay on the field in both man and zone concepts. In man coverage, he is reliant on keeping his hands on tight ends to feel for route breaks. He doesn’t have a natural recognition and needs the physical contact to break on time. He can hang with the average in-line tight end, but loses the athleticism battle one-on-one with athletic move pieces or backs who are used as a part of the route concept. Those players can shake him easily on whip/return routes.
Alex Anzalone, the Leak stopper. pic.twitter.com/nLljn6kgFZ
— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) October 15, 2024
In zone coverage, he is quick to close on underneath passes from hooks, which is where he is best utilized. He can pattern match to the flats as well, but he wasn’t asked to get vertical very often, and I think he would struggle if that became a regular assignment of his. Because of this, he won’t close middle of the field windows very often against deeper breaking digs or crosses.
Anzalone does show smooth hips, and half-turn drops from mugged-up alignments and gets to consistent, albeit limited, depths. This allows for some variation in his usage.
Lions LB Alex Anzalone and Bucs TE Cade Otton – Photo by: IMAGN Images – Lon Horwedel
Pass Rushing
Anzalone is an effective part of a pass rush plan and he will sell out to help a teammate get home. He commits to engaging offensive linemen to help loopers round him to get home. When he is the schemed-up man, or he finds a lane to exploit, he gets stoned by backs more than you would like. This goes back to his lack of pop. He just doesn’t dictate contact well enough. That prevents him from being a real 1v1 threat.
He can rush from a mugged-up position effectively enough that a defensive coordinator can make those calls when he is on the field, but he isn’t effective as a fifth man on the line to change the structure of the front. He is much more effective as a second-wave rusher, timing the snap, or spiking the A-gap from a mugged-up position.
Contract Projection
I have a two-year, $15 million projection for Anzalone, with $12 million guaranteed. This would be about half of what Nakobe Dean is likely to get and a discount on Devin Bush. It would also represent a shorter commitment in line with Anzalone’s age.
Josh Queipo joined the Pewter Report team in 2022, specializing in salary cap analysis and film study. In addition to his official role with the website and podcast, he has an unofficial role as the Pewter Report team’s beaming light of positivity and jokes. A staunch proponent of the forward pass, he is a father to two amazing children and loves sushi, brisket, steak and bacon, though the order changes depending on the day. He graduated from the University of South Florida in 2008 with a degree in finance.
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