The Tampa Bay Buccaneers received considerable praise for signing inside linebacker Alex Anzalone to a 2-year, $17 million free-agent contract.
Just 2 games into the 2026 season, that praise has become disdain. The Buccaneers and Anzalone have been that bad.
After an 0-2 start and a Week 2 loss to the Cleveland Browns in the Bucs’ home opener, Anzalone’s poor play has come sharply into focus — as has the green dot on his helmet that represents his ability to communicate with the coaches and realy calls to his teammates through the radio in his helmet.
“He wasn’t the only one to miss a tackle,” Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles told Fox Sports NFL reporter Greg Auman. “We had a few guys miss tackles in the second half that led to some plays. We’ve just got to tackle better.
“Asked if Anzalone having the green dot as communicator on defense makes it harder to sub in someone and send him to the bench, Bowles said ‘If you put somebody on the bench for messing up, then everybody’s on the bench,'” Auman wrote on his official X account.
Anzalone ‘Messing Up’ Doesn’t Quite Sum It Up
Just saying Anzalone is “messing up” doesn’t quite get to the heart of the issue.
According to Pro Football Focus, through the 1st 2 games, Anzalone has been arguably the NFL’s worst inside linebacker — his 35.9 overall grade ranks him 66th out of 69 eligible players at his position.
“Good lord Alex Anzalone is having a hard time playing football,” The Pewter Plank wrote on its official X account on Sunday.
“Anzalone might have to be benched,” NFL Reporter Jon Ledyard wrote on X. “He is killing the team.”
“There are 352 men who are defensive starters in the NFL … Bucs ILB Alex Anzalone might legitimately be the 352nd best,” The Salty Buccaneers wrote on its official X account. “We got us a BUM in Alex Anzalone.”
Bucs Initially Praised for Signing Alex Anzalone
The Buccaneers received a rare A+ grade from The Athletic’s Daniel Popper for signing Anzalone in March — before the retirement of legendary linebacker Lavonte David was made official.
“Longtime Bucs off-ball linebacker Lavonte David is a free agent, and he clearly took a step back last season,” Popper wrote on Wednesday. “David turned 36 in January. The Bucs get younger at the position by bringing on Anzalone, who is a superior athlete as he enters his age-32 campaign. Anzalone is fast, flexible, and fluid. He is slippery when evading blockers, especially as a blitzer … Anzalone is also a versatile coverage player. The one knock on his game is a slight lack of physicality as a run defender. But this is an excellent value deal for the Bucs at a position of need.”
The Buccaneers ended up getting a hometown discount from Anzalone they probably didn’t expect because he actually lives in the Tampa area.
“Confirming Bucs have agreed to a contract with Lions FA LB Alex Anzalone,” Tampa Bay Times NFL reporter Rick Stroud wrote on his official X account on March 9. “He lives in Tampa.”
“The Buccaneers have agreed to terms with LB Alex Anzalone on a two-year, $17 million deal,” NFL Network’s Mike Garofolo wrote on his official X account. “Thor heads to Tampa … He turned down more money elsewhere to join the Bucs.”
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