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Entering his 10th season in the NFL, new Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ linebacker Alex Anzalone will be playing for his third team in his career after signing a two-year, $17 million deal during free agency.
While previously playing for the New Orleans Saints and Detroit Lions, making the transition to the pewter and red has been a smooth process for the former Florida Gator, who has made his home in Tampa since coming into the league in 2017 as a third-round pick of the Saints.
During a recent interview with team reporter Casey Phillips, Anzalone said “coming home” has made it easier to focus on his job as a linebacker.
“It’s a lot less on my family and now I can focus more on football because the family-life is set up perfectly and they are good, there’s no moving parts,” Anzalone said.
Along with living in Tampa, Anzalone is no stranger to Buccaneers’ fans after spending his first four years with NFC South Division rival New Orleans and Tampa Bay playing Detroit in each of the last three seasons.
“It creates familiarity,” Anzalone said of joining the Buccaneers. “You know players, you know the coaches, the people, the scheme. You know an opponent so well, so it’s less of a transition.”
Signed to help fill the void of future Hall of Famer Lavonte David’s retirement, Anzalone registered 52 solo tackles, four tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and one interception for the Lions in 2025. He has played in more than 90 career games and has started seven playoff games. During the 2023 and 2024 postseasons, he racked up 31 solo tackles and four TFLs in four games for the Lions.
Although the soon-to-be 32-year-old will be three years removed from his best season (2023), he has played more than 90 percent of defensive snaps the last four seasons, including 96 percent of the Lions’ defensive snaps in 2025.
Anzalone said he is hoping to help the team with his experience and embraces being a leader.
“As you get older you have so much football knowledge that you want to share or give back. You want to see your teammates succeed,” he said. “I feel like I’ve seen a lot of different things and I try to offer that perspective to my teammates in that regard. Just try to be relatable and have fun and lead by example. Say what needs to be said when the time comes and not over do it either.”
Anzalone also gives the Buccaneers flexibility at linebacker as he has played both inside and outside.
“Playing linebacker you have to take control of a lot of different things whether it’s wearing the green dot or not,” Anzalone said. “I’m excited to do my part and help the guys around me.”
In addition to rooting for a “home town” player, Buccaneers’ fans will also appreciate not seeing Anzalone have continued success against the team. In seven career games against Tampa Bay, Anzalone’s teams are 5-2 and have allowed just 17.6 points per game.
This season Tampa Bay will be looking to improve on its No. 20-ranked defense that allowed 5.7 yards per play, 23 turnovers, 4.3 rushing yards per play, 39.1 percent of drives ending in an offensive touchdown and 12.3 percent of drives ending in an offensive turnover.
“This defense has come up a lot, playing the Bucs so many times, you know how difficult it is to process it and diagnose what’s going on,” Anzalone said. “I’m excited for them to see my energy and hopefully it’s a breath of fresh air to watch.”
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While previously playing for the New Orleans Saints and Detroit Lions, making the transition to the pewter and red has been a smooth process for the former Florida Gator, who has made his home in Tampa since coming into the league in 2017 as a third-round pick of the Saints.
During a recent interview with team reporter Casey Phillips, Anzalone said “coming home” has made it easier to focus on his job as a linebacker.
“It’s a lot less on my family and now I can focus more on football because the family-life is set up perfectly and they are good, there’s no moving parts,” Anzalone said.
Along with living in Tampa, Anzalone is no stranger to Buccaneers’ fans after spending his first four years with NFC South Division rival New Orleans and Tampa Bay playing Detroit in each of the last three seasons.
“It creates familiarity,” Anzalone said of joining the Buccaneers. “You know players, you know the coaches, the people, the scheme. You know an opponent so well, so it’s less of a transition.”
Signed to help fill the void of future Hall of Famer Lavonte David’s retirement, Anzalone registered 52 solo tackles, four tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and one interception for the Lions in 2025. He has played in more than 90 career games and has started seven playoff games. During the 2023 and 2024 postseasons, he racked up 31 solo tackles and four TFLs in four games for the Lions.
Although the soon-to-be 32-year-old will be three years removed from his best season (2023), he has played more than 90 percent of defensive snaps the last four seasons, including 96 percent of the Lions’ defensive snaps in 2025.
Anzalone said he is hoping to help the team with his experience and embraces being a leader.
“As you get older you have so much football knowledge that you want to share or give back. You want to see your teammates succeed,” he said. “I feel like I’ve seen a lot of different things and I try to offer that perspective to my teammates in that regard. Just try to be relatable and have fun and lead by example. Say what needs to be said when the time comes and not over do it either.”
Anzalone also gives the Buccaneers flexibility at linebacker as he has played both inside and outside.
“Playing linebacker you have to take control of a lot of different things whether it’s wearing the green dot or not,” Anzalone said. “I’m excited to do my part and help the guys around me.”
In addition to rooting for a “home town” player, Buccaneers’ fans will also appreciate not seeing Anzalone have continued success against the team. In seven career games against Tampa Bay, Anzalone’s teams are 5-2 and have allowed just 17.6 points per game.
This season Tampa Bay will be looking to improve on its No. 20-ranked defense that allowed 5.7 yards per play, 23 turnovers, 4.3 rushing yards per play, 39.1 percent of drives ending in an offensive touchdown and 12.3 percent of drives ending in an offensive turnover.
“This defense has come up a lot, playing the Bucs so many times, you know how difficult it is to process it and diagnose what’s going on,” Anzalone said. “I’m excited for them to see my energy and hopefully it’s a breath of fresh air to watch.”
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