Lions put heat on star linebacker who is waiting for a new deal.
Alex Anzalone, a linebacker for the Lions, seems to be waiting for the team to give him a new contract before he plays in 2025. Even though talks are going on, the Lions need to be ready for the worst.
Last season, Anzalone missed a lot of games because of an arm injury. When he was out, the Lions’ DVOA numbers dropped from second to second-to-last. To sum up, Alex Anzalone is an important part of this Lions defense.
But every player should be able to fight for a contract if they think they earn one, and Anzalone doesn’t look good with the Lions’ new signing.
While Anzalone is out, the Lions sign an experienced linebacker.
While the Anzalone talks were going on, it was reported that the Lions would be signing veteran linebacker Zach Cunningham. Last year, Cunningham played for the Denver Broncos, but he only played in seven games and made four stops.
Cunningham was picked up by the Texans in the 2017 draft. In 2020, he led the NFL in tackles for Houston with 164 total tackles and 106 solo tackles. Cunningham played for the Eagles for a year before last season. He started 10 games and made 84 stops.
Cunningham has been having a hard time lately because of injuries. He has only started 20 games in the last four seasons and only played in 10 games between 2021 and 2022.
After getting Cunningham, the Lions had to make a move that would match, so they waived linebacker Abraham Beauplan. Beauplan had spent most of his time on the Lions’ and Vikings’ practice teams.
It’s not that the Lions would rather have Cunningham start than Anzalone, but they need to be ready for the worst. It’s possible that Detroit will be without three of their top four linebackers to begin the season again if Anzalone doesn’t play in Week 1.
Malcolm Rodriguez is still healing from an ACL injury, Derrick Barnes just got back from injuries to his MCL and PCL and should be back for Week 1, but we haven’t heard for sure yet, and now Anzalone could be held out.
Because the Lions’ first few games are so tough, these defenders need to get on the field as soon as possible to start the 2025 season. The Lions need to think of a way to keep Anzalone in Detroit since they have games coming up in Green Bay, Baltimore, Cincinnati, and Kansas City.
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