Last offseason, the Detroit Lions gave linebacker Derrick Barnes a three-year, $24 million contract before he could have even talked to other teams as a free agent.
Soon after that, heading into the final year of his contract, Alex Anzalone responded to some data that was offered about him to make it clear how important he is/has been to the Lions' defense. Later,, he expressed some frustration with his situation via social media.
To get Anzalone to practice at training camp, the Lions moved some money around without giving him a new contract. Then he went out and had another good season, with 95 total tackles, nine pass breakups and more quarterback hits than Barnes over 16 games.
The Lions clearly see Anzalone as replaceable, despite evidence to the contrary even as Jack Campbell has emerged as a force in the linebacking corps. The choice to invest in Barnes over a better, more versatile linebacker looks bad as Anzalone moves toward being gone.
Lions' mishandling of Alex Anzalone continues to be confirmed
Ryan Smith of Pro Football Focus has named the most underrated 2026 free agent at each defensive position, with the one-foot-out-the door-in-Detroit Anzalone the choice at linebacker.
"Anzalone has been a rock in the middle of the Detroit Lions’ defense since he arrived in 2021, playing 1,000 or more snaps in three of those seasons. His first year with the team was the worst of his career (35.4 PFF grade), but he’s been strong over the last three years with a cumulative 71.2 PFF grade over that span."
"Anzalone’s biggest area of improvement over the years has been as a tackler, and he’s coming off a year in which his 6.9% missed tackle rate was a career best. He will provide stability and leadership to the linebacker unit for whatever team he ends up with in 2026."
The Lions have to make room for more notable contract extensions to come, so some tough decisions to let people leave are automatic. Anzalone has been tabbed as one of those inevitable departures, internally at first and now undoubtedly otherwise based on how his situation has been handled by the team.
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Spotrac has Anzalone's market value at $7.3 million per year, on a projected two-year free agent deal. What he'll actually get, or what his 2026 cap number will be, is of course to be determined.
But Barnes' current 2026 cap number, $9.76 million, is top-20 among off the ball linebackers right now. But it's safe to think Anzalone won't carry that heavy a cap number this year, wherever he ends up and whatever his contract looks like.
No team is mistake-free when it comes to who to sign, re-sign etc. But the Lions' fracturing of their relationship with Anzalone, while choosing Barnes to invest in, is a miscalculation that's likely to linger for a bit.