For the past five years of his career, Alex Anzalone was a stalwart of the Detroit Lions' defense. His presence on the inside and volume tackling were instrumental to their success, which is why it was so painful to watch him end his tenure in the Motor City on bad terms with the team.
After a long contract dispute in Detroit, Anzalone signed a two-year, $17 million deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Then, he doubled down on his bad blood with the team by calling them out over their decision to recoup Frank Ragnow's signing bonus after his retirement. However, it seems like he might still have some love for the organization, despite the criticism.
In a recent appearance on Jordan Schultz's "The Schultz Report," the former Lions star shared a heartwarming story about his five-year-old son letting Aidan Hutchinson know he was going to miss him, adding that it was almost like a 'grieving process.'
“It was me, Derrick Barnes and Aidan Hutchinson golfing out here in Tampa the other day,” Anzalone told Schultz. “I was like, ‘I’ll take my son Cooper with me.' We’re shooting some content for Aidan. At the end of it, we’re leaving, and I didn’t even know this happened, you know, I didn’t tell Cooper this at all. He went up to Aidan and was like, ‘Mr. Aidan, I’m going to miss you so much,’ and gave him a hug. He texted me saying he damn near cried.”
Alex Anzalone Will Miss the Lions After All
Football is a business, first and foremost, and things can get ugly when teams mess with players' money or vice versa. Given the way his negotiations soured and how he seemed phased out for most of last season, his departure wasn't much of a surprise. If anything, it made sense for him to return to Florida and play a similar role on another strong defense like Todd Bowles'.
That being said, it's hard to believe the Lions are better without him. They signed Damone Clark from the Houston Texans, but he's been a rotational piece at best over the past three years. There are no guarantees he will have what it takes to replace the high-volume production the Lions lost when Anzalone left the franchise.
As things stand now, defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard will have to roll with Derrick Barnes, Jack Campbell, and Malcolm Rodriguez as his linebacker trio. While that's not necessarily a bad unit, it leaves the team thin at one of the most crucial defensive positions. Whether this is something they address in the draft remains to be seen, but it is a noticeable hole on the depth chart.
As for Anzalone, it was tough to watch him burn bridges to the Lions after five years of solid play as one of Detroit's defensive leaders. Then again, that has -- unfortunately -- become a bit of a trend with this organization and departing players.