Alex Anzalone ( , born September 22, 1994) is an American professional

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for the Detroit Lions of the

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(NFL). He played

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for the Florida Gators. Anzalone was selected in the third round 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 National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

in the 2017 NFL draft.

College career

Anzalone originally committed to Ohio State and Notre Dame but chose to play

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

from 2013 to 2016. During the four-year span, he missed 20 games due to injuries with his only full season being the 2014 season as the backup linebacker. He played ten games in 2013, two games in 2015, and seven games in 2016. He forewent his final year of college eligibility to enter the 2017 NFL draft.

Professional career

New Orleans Saints

The

selected Anzalone in the third round (76th overall) of the 2017 NFL draft. He was the tenth

selected in 2017. On June 2, 2017, the 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. He played in all 16 games, starting seven, in the 2018 season. He finished with two sacks, 59 total tackles (45 solo), one interception, two passes defended, and three forced fumbles. Anzalone was placed on injured reserve on September 16, 2019. In the 2019 season, he appeared in two games and had one sack. In the 2020 season, he appeared in 16 games and started nine. He finished with 41 total tackles (22 solo).

Detroit Lions

Anzalone signed with the Detroit Lions 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. In the 2021 season, he appeared in and started 14 games. He finished with one sack, 78 total tackles (49 solo), one interception, and seven passes defended. In March 2022, Anzalone re-signed with the Lions. In the 2022 season, he started in all 17 games. He finished with 1.5 sacks, 125 total tackles (77 solo), one interception, six passes defended, and one fumble recovery. On March 13, 2023, Anzalone signed a three-year, $18.75 million contract extension with the Lions. In the 2023 season, Anzalone finished with three sacks, 129 total tackles (85 solo), six passes defended, and one fumble recovery in 16 games and starts. In his third season with the Lions, Anzalone was selected as a 2024 NFL Pro Bowl alternate. In the 2024 season Anzalone suffered a broken left forearm in the Week 11's 52-6 victory against

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

. Expected to miss 6-8 weeks due to the injury, he was placed on injured reserve on November 18 with hopes of returning in the post-season. Prior to the injury, Anzalone totaled 56 stops, including seven tackles for loss, and four pass deflections. He was activated for the regular season finale on January 4, 2025.

Personal life

Anzalone is of Italian descent, and was born in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania. Anzalone is a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

. He is married to Lindsey Anzalone.

References

External links

Florida Gators bioNew Orleans Saints bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anzalone, Alex 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 Berks County, Pennsylvania American people of Italian descent