Alex Anzalone (born September 22, 1994) is an
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
middle linebacker
Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...
for the
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...
of the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL). He played
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
at
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
. He was drafted by the
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...
in the third round of the
2017 NFL Draft.
College career
Anzalone played
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
at
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
from 2013 to 2016.
Professional career
New Orleans Saints
The
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...
selected Anzalone in the third round (76th overall) of the
2017 NFL Draft. He was the tenth linebacker selected in 2017.
On June 2, 2017, the New Orleans Saints signed Anzalone to a four-year,
$3.46 million contract that included a
signing bonus
A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...
of $864,592.
Anzalone earned a starting outside linebacker job for the Saints as a rookie, starting all four games in which he played. In Week 4 against the Dolphins, he suffered a shoulder injury and was placed on injured reserve on October 4, 2017.
After playing in all 16 games in the 2018 season, Anzalone was placed on
injured reserve
The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...
on September 16, 2019.
Detroit Lions
Anzalone signed with the
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...
on March 24, 2021. He entered the 2021 season as a starting linebacker. He started the first 14 games before suffering a shoulder injury in Week 15. He was placed on injured reserve on December 20.
On September 11, 2021, Anzalone re-signed with the Lions.
References
External links
Florida Gators bioNew Orleans Saints bio
1994 births
Living people
American football linebackers
Detroit Lions players
Florida Gators football players
New Orleans Saints players
People from Wyomissing, Pennsylvania
Players of American football from Pennsylvania
Sportspeople from the Delaware Valley
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