“Elite Cover Linebacker” Alex Anzalone
March 21st, 2026
Buccaneers Ring of Honor general manager Jason Licht was talking to Joe and three other reporters during an intimate sitdown at One Buc Palace this week.
No cameras allowed. No donuts. No nonsense. (Well, maybe a little nonsense.)
Licht didn’t only talk about Mike Evans’ departure. He addressed most of the team’s key signings in free agency. Yes, the Bucs made upgrades, or likely upgrades.
The jewel of the Bucs’ offseason appears to be Lions inside linebacker Alex Anzalone. He can cover! And the Bucs didn’t have an inside linebacker who was special in coverage last season. Heck, one could easily argue starter SirVocea Dennis was flat out lost in coverage.
“I think he’s one of the elite cover linebackers in the league,” Licht said of Anzalone. “And, you know, he really, really wanted to be in Tampa. Lives here, but also he was being very genuine with wanting in Todd’s defense [so he] can do more things.”
Joe loves the Anzalone signing. The guy can play. So what if he turns 32 in September. He’s also a tone-setter type and an outspoken team-first guy.
As Joe has noted, Anzalone had 9 passes defensed last season. Lavonte David hasn’t had that many in a year since 2015. But the film doesn’t lie. Anzalone is a darn good player. Not great, but Bucs fans can expect him to do his job.
March 21st, 2026 at 8:59 am
I want LVD back, but even a healthy LVD is a liability in coverage. The Bucs still need to draft two ILB’s who are good in coverage (many guys in the draft are bad in coverage). Tight ends and RB’s have killed the Bucs so we need cover ILBs and/or a stout safety to neutralize the TE’s.
March 21st, 2026 at 9:10 am
He wants to play for Bowles. Let that marinate for a minute.
March 21st, 2026 at 9:39 am
I’ll say it again, the Bucs just didn’t have the talent to start AND survive the injuries they had last year, some of the attitudes started to show as well. It is interesting that Anzalone wanted to come here and play for Bowles, that says something. Maybe only cause he wasn’t here for the melt down? Don’t know. However the draft falls the Buc’s may need to do some wheeling and dealin if certain players are with in range, I say D-line/LB. And UDFA could be a gold mine, we have used that well, particularly for DB’s.
March 21st, 2026 at 9:46 am
Besides losing Mike & Dean…we’ve done pretty well in FA
March 21st, 2026 at 9:52 am
Huge and he wanted to come to Todd’s defense. The haters are going to love this one. Hahaha
March 21st, 2026 at 9:54 am
All the more reason LVD needs to call it a career. He’s done.
March 21st, 2026 at 10:13 am
this is a massive upgrade to the defense. this system runs on players able to do multiple tasks and anzalone checks all the boxes. i know everyone wanted maxx and trey, but they would have handcuffed defensive plays , they do they do one thing and do it insanely well, but you need to be able to do more for this to work, you dont want 2 crosby’s, you want like 5 anzalones. that said we do still need a couple more but this is the type of player we need, even if its not the type of player some wanted.
March 21st, 2026 at 10:13 am
Guessing Lavonte is holding out for 7+M and/or a guarantee he starts next to Anzalone. Time to hang it up legend
March 21st, 2026 at 10:22 am
Anzalone is a little bigger than the type of player Bowles uses at Mike/Moe, but both Bowles & Licht have talked about getting bigger on defense. Anzalone has been a top cover off ball LB, matches up well with TEs and can stick with pro caliber RBs. That’s our coverage backer.
What we should be looking to add to the ILB room is a player who can give us the sideline to sideline presence as a run defender while also being reliable with what Anazalone does well, even if it takes time/refinement. Outside of Anazalone, the second ILB spot should be another area we get some mid-high potential talent to just compete through camp.
March 21st, 2026 at 10:25 am
He was a little brittle at uf but I wonder if that was holding back for his pro career
March 21st, 2026 at 10:31 am
For a LB, he is pretty solid A in coverage. Even on that crazy Gainwell play, I was impressed at the coverage still on that type of RB. Dude was in phase and deliberate in his coverage.
March 21st, 2026 at 10:42 am
These are the rookies that l saw play last season
Emeka Egbuka
Benjamin Morrison
Jacob Parrish
Elijah Roberts
Tez Johnson
Ben Chukwuma
John Bullock
Nick Jackson
Josh Williams
These 9 rookies saw action last season, it could be more
This will be a talented draft, especially at CB,ILB, OLB, DT
I’m thinking we can get 10-12 rookies from the draft and UDFA
To make the initial roster, or make the roster at some point
And this includes David Walker and JJ Roberts
We will be better prepared this year than last year
And Licht will still add more veterans before the season starts
March 21st, 2026 at 10:49 am
You expect him to look good in Todd Blows scheme? A scheme that any decent OC can pick apart? Good luck with that.
March 21st, 2026 at 10:57 am
I feel like Edge always gets pushed until a later date because they usually don’t make Alot of impact year 1 an the Bucs usually need there rookies to play prominent roles and they try to get by with what they have at some point they have to use a 1st round Pick on an Edge or trade for one or sign one spend some money like wtf I feel like the Bucs are the only team that neglects the pass Rush from the edge I guess they tried but keep trying
March 21st, 2026 at 11:00 am
AA has a motor that never quits ,great signing, but the Bucs still need another FA ILB and another OLB.
March 21st, 2026 at 11:13 am
We will fill a lot of needs from this draft
March 21st, 2026 at 11:14 am
Now all of the Bucs will be called elite Super Bowl Bound players. Wonderful hype until the season starts.
March 21st, 2026 at 11:14 am
Yes, Todd’s defense requires players to do lots of things. Rushing the passer, covering receivers, and tackling are not among them.
March 21st, 2026 at 11:33 am
“…genuine with wanting in Todd’s defense…” LMAO!
March 21st, 2026 at 11:46 am
I get it. Spring brings on hope for a new, great year.
So where were we with our FA hopes last year. I won’t include our more popular resignings:
Haason Reddick (LB/EDGE), Ben Bredeson (G), Riley Dixon (P),Kindle Vildor (CB), Greg Gaines (DL), Bryce Hall (CB), Sua Opeta (G), Anthony Walker (LB), C.J. Brewer (DL), Eric Banks (DL)
Anybody jump out at ya? Reddick and Dixon were massive failures! But these pages were full of 2025 excitement, especially about Reddick. Hey, it’s that time of year.
And this year is much the same. The great FA’s go elsewhere while Licht still roams the aisles of Dollar General. Enjoy this spring while you can. We cannot lose a game in the spring. And I too will hope for September magic from the bargain basement.
And in ten years we’ll all be shouting, REMEMBER THE TIGHT ONES!